Half way there.

Yesterday, a friend celebrated his 25th birthday with us. It wasn't really his birthday yet but one of the perks of being dayuhan is getting to spend your birthday twice! He was born in the Philippines so it was already the 8th there, therefore Facebook greetings are pouring in a day early.

We were gathered around the dinning table just talking about what we wanted to achieve when we hit the 25 mark. Most of us are in our mid to late twenties now, though I am still half way through my 25th year. Most of us talked about careers, travels, family and the likes and I actually remembered writing a post about aspirations I wanted to achieve but didn't get to the specifics so maybe I will share it here. Posting it publicly might even help keep me in check. I am usually my worst critic so I tend to focus more on what I wasn't able to do instead of celebrating the things I was able to accomplish. This is in no way bragging of what I've done but perhaps, one way of counting my blessings.

Goals:

1. Read more. So far, I've read five books since writing this goal. *sigh* I wish I have more time. Oh wait, I do have time! I just need to make sure I don't waste it. I am on the process of finishing 3 books right now. Do articles from Forbes, Inc. count? I think I spent countless hours reading through their sites already so might as well make it count! haha Can I also count books in The Book of Mormon? That easily gives me 11! Wooo!

2. Travel. Notice it doesn't really say Travel more since I haven't really traveled the US yet after graduating. What can we do?! We were poor college students back then. But since getting my first 'real' job this year, E and I were able to save enough to start. My birthday was spent in Seattle, 3rd anniversary in New York (one of my dream destinations! yay!) and E's birthday back in Hawaii. This Christmas will be spent in Chicago. I also made it a point to drive out of town whenever it is a long weekend. So far we've done Napa, Carmel and Yosemite. What other things can we do that is just a few miles away of SF?

3. Yoga

4. Got my driver's license. Finally!

5. Save an x amount of money. After reading a finance blog, I decided its never too early or too late to keep track and manage our finances so I became extra anal on where every dollar is spent. It's actually paying off! I am happy to report that we're on track on our goal to save x amount in x years. I think it is really important to put a deadline to any goal. It is easily measurable.

6. Finish the Book of Mormon. Again. 5/15. I still have three months so hopefully I do finish it! I just love reading and re-reading this book. Every time I do, I am reminded of the first time I finished it ten years ago (can't believe it's been that long!) and knowing that this book is indeed a book that came from God. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. There are countless lessons I learn from it. Whatever question I have in life, there is an answer found in this book. One of my favorite scriptures is 2 Nephi 9:39: "...to be spiritually-minded is life eternal" or SMILE for short. :)

So far, these are just a few of the things I remember setting a goal for. I can't believe it has been eight months since I wrote these down on my journal. It was also just a few months ago when I heard about the passing of a college batch mate. This made me realize how precious our time really here in mortality is. No one, and I am stressing NO ONE thinks they will pass away that young. That's why we should make every second of it count! Not only for yourself but for the people around you. Make yourself a blessing to others and enjoy life while you're at it.