30 Before 30 Journey in a Year

It's here! The BIG 3-0 is here. Technically, I have another 6 hours of being 29 if we are going from my official time of arrival on this planet as I sit here writing this post at 7:56 a.m. I've been awake since before 7:00 a.m., an interesting development in the last few years, my inability to sleep in regardless of when I fall asleep. This is definitely a change since my last "0" birthday of 20. And as I sit here, I'm not sure how to wrap up the past year's 30 Before 30 adventure? How can I sum up the victories, the hardships, the losses and the journey? I can only describe it as joyously and wonderfully profound. When I began the list, one of the first things I knew I wanted to do was create this blog - a dedicated space to document the journey and share it with you. I knew making this adventure public would both spur conversation and engagement with those around me and hold me accountable to the list I made. I've often wondered would I have finished...

My singing career began like many fellow singers I know: church. While there wasn't many opportunities for vocal performances in the rural, public schools I attended, church was the opposite. From children's choir to maturing into solo performances as I aged, those with the gift of singing used them at First Baptist Jellico. Looking back, it's quite comical how I was added to the monthly singing rotation without so much as an ask. But, the assumption was you had a gift and you would use your gift to inspire others. But my last vocal performance of substance (forced karaoke with friends doesn't count) was over 10 years ago. When I moved away for college, the desire to sing just evaporated. Looking back, I believe it was a combination of reasons: a new season of life, a lack of opportunity and simply a desire to remove that level of scrutiny from my life. Let me explain the last two. First, opportunities to sing are not always easy to track down. I've never wanted...

I'll just confess to this from the get go; I spent $219 on one bottle of champagne. And I'm having all kinds of mixed feelings about this purchase. The reason I added this to my 30 Before 30 list was two-fold: indulgence and to create some personal discomfort. Let's start with the latter. Normally, I'm a frugal person. While there are areas of my life I am more flexible about spending (travel being one), I tend to be pretty fiscally conservative. While you're not going to find me on an episode of Extreme Cheapskates digging dinner out of a dumpster, I don't carry any other debt than my home, I still drive the same car I drove as a junior in high school (Cora Corolla is still going strong) and I'm a mean bargain hunter.  With that said, purchasing a $200+ bottle of champagne was a tough moment for me. And there aren't many things I can think of that are more fleeting and frivolous than sparkling wine. But, it's was also an indulgent, ridiculo...

What's your definition of a photographer? Is it someone who gets paid to take pictures? Is a hobbyist with a fancy Nikon? Or can someone with a good eye, some Instagram filters and an iPhone a photographer? I'm not sure what the answer to my question really is. But my path to photography started back in January of 2015. I took a two part photography class by a local arts nonprofit, AVA . The goal was to enhance my professional skill set, learn the basics of a DSLR camera and save myself some professional headache. Working in the marketing and communication world, having great visuals is a must. I wanted to be able to produce those on my own; both ensuring I could capture high quality images for all my needs and provide cost savings and add value to my professional position. From the instruction of that class and many hours taking and editing pictures on my own, I would say my photography skills are passable. I would like to invest in some better lenses in the future and con...

When you live in the Gig City, it feels like you can throw a stick around here and find someone who's building an app, working for a tech startup or has the next big social media idea. And while I love the energy and am happy to live and work in a forward thinking city, sometimes I felt like those around me were speaking a second language. So, I decided to try my hand at learning that language: coding. Asking around, I heard great things about an online learning community called Treehouse . It is a fee based service; however, Chattanooga's great public library has a limited number of subscriptions. I was able to use one. The nice thing is once signed up for Treehouse through the library, I was able to work at my own pace and from anywhere I had an internet connection and a computer. There are numerous tracks within Treehouse. So even if you are lucky enough to have some coding ability, you are not required to start at ground zero. I completed two tracks: digital literacy (...

Did you know in the Great Smoky Mountains there is a set of cabins that you can stay in that are only accessible by hiking, helicopter and llama trains? And that these accommodations are the highest inn providing lodging in the Eastern US? Well, if you did or didn't, Mt LeConte is a pretty special place that I wanted to make sure I visited before the big 3-0. Being a native East Tennessean, I have known about Mt LeConte and its unique lodging, LeConte Lodge, since childhood but had never took the trek until August. From Chattanooga, you're looking at a 3 hour drive. The hubs and I broke it up with a weekend stay in Knoxville where my mom, sister and brother in law also joined us for the hike. I couldn't have asked for a better group to pass 100 miles and to summit LeConte with. When deciding how to get to the top of Mt LeConte, you actually have five choices: Alum Cave, Boulevard Trail, Bullhead Trail, Rainbow Falls and Trillium Gap. Here's info on all five. My cre...