#18First in 2018 — A Year Of Doing 50+ Things For The Very First Time In My Life
When was the last time you did something for the very first time in your life? I have asked myself that question quite often in my life and even more so in recent years. This is why I started being more conscious about them.
By keeping track of what I did for the very first time I started to appreciate the little things even more than I did before. It taught me that the world around us has so many things to offer, and we just need to discover it with open eyes like children do.
The goal? To do at least 18 things in twenty eighteen for the very first time in my life. Did I achieve it? Oh, I sure did. My list notes a whopping number of more than 50 actions I ended up doing for the very first time in my entire life and that even though I already turned 30 years old.
In the following I will share with you some of these unique moments to inspire you to maybe embark on a similar journey next year:
#1) Being Unemployed
For the very first time in my life I was unemployed for several months, fighting through my own #FailureSuccessRate applying for more than 30 selective jobs that I didn’t end up getting. It taught me some valuable lessons though around the privilege of having a safety net living in a country like Germany, but also how low you appear to be to others when you tell them you do not have a job, because a job in the 21st century still seems to be the number #1 factor for identity.
#2) Olympic Bicycle Racing
To be honest I was terrified — at all times. But I did it anyhow, even though our instructor told us that the racing bike has no break and if you stop pedaling you’re gonna fall, same as if you don’t have enough speed going into a curve. A thrilling experience which most certainly took my breath away, but I’m glad I did it. And maybe, just maybe, I will dare to go a little higher next time.
#3) Harry Potter Dinner
To be honest I am not the biggest fan of too posh places to dine for. But who could resist an invitation to go for a typical Harry Potter Dinner aka formal dinner at the Oxford University? I still do not like the hierarchy presented even at dinner, but it was certainly fun to dine at the Brasenose College.
#4) DNA Test
If every person living today could trace his or her maternal line back over thousands of generations, all of our lines would meet at a single woman who lived in eastern Africa between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago. Your and my story start with her. But where do you come from? I was super excited to receive my DNA test results to find out that apart from the obvious part from Sri Lanka, I’m more Eastern European than German-French, and have Italian and Southern European roots, as well as even Siberian ones. Can highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in finding out more about her or his past.
#5) Be featured in a rap video
Definitely one of the funny highlights, when you take the streets to protest your conservative government and find yourself next to two rappers recording their new tape and end up being in the rap video.
#6) Drink inflammable water
Traveling to unknown places also gives you the opportunity to see things you never thought would be possible. In a tiny town at the border between Azerbaijan and Iran you can find Yanar Bulağ, the burning spring. The unusual spring fascinatingly combines the two elements fire and water. You can ignite the water and it will burn due to its uniquely high methane content.
#7) Getting deported
In hindsight it sounds like a fun story, but it was not necessarily fun to stand in front of the highest immigration officer and to be told that you should prepare to be deported, after you refuse to pay a fine for apparently not registering to stay longer than 10 days in Azerbaijan. Out of options (i) go to prison, (ii) pay a whopping fine or (iii) get deported, I choose the later, which in the end meant that I could embark on the aircraft I initially wanted to anyway.
#8) Live on air on radio
This year was also the very first time I was live on air on the radio. And that even during my lunch break for a full show without my colleagues and clients even realizing it. Was lots of fun to discuss politics with people calling in and sharing their perspectives.
#9) The Past & the Future (traditional Chief & VR)
For the first time I met a traditional Chief in Ghana learning about the importance of the past, but I also entered a Virtual Reality Center for the first time this year playing futuristic computer games while getting a glimpse of the future.
#10) 50 Pushups in a row
My project to become fitter paid off, so well that I managed for the very first time to do 50 push-ups in a row without a pause.
#11) 268 days of 30 Pushups & 30 Situps in a row
Talking about endurance. For 268 days straight I managed to keep my streak alive to do 30 pushups and 30 situps every single day. Unfortunately I had to break the streak when I turned a little sicker than I wanted to be.
#12) Walk on the edge
At the coast of Ireland I experienced my very first cliff walk with weather conditions ranging from heavy rain, super strong winds to beautiful sunshine to warm our frozen bodies. What a truly stunning experience.
#13) Catching the wrong train
2018 was also a good year for dreaming. I still cannot tell whether for myself or for the person writing the train announcements, so I managed to jump on a train going to completely different city than I wanted to go to.
#14) Swim in the Caribbean Sea & Cenotes
Also this past year I managed to finally set foot in the breathtaking Caribbean coasts from Cartagena to Cancún and was lucky enough to not only swim in the Caribbean sea in Colombia, but also in Mexico. This was completed by enjoying a cold swim in some Mexico’s famous cenotes.
#15) Design my own laundry basket
After half a lifetime of looking for the right laundry basket (yet, I am getting old!) I eventually managed to design my very own bamboo handmade & locally tailored laundry basket and supported the local carpentry in Ghana.
#16) Try tons of new food
2018 also took my tongue on a gourmet journey from fresh oysters and fish and chips in Ireland, to tacos, quesadillas and more in Colombia and Mexico to kelewele, waakye and banku in Ghana.
#17) Ride a horse
One of my longtime bucket list items became also true this year once my friends found out about it, they simply scheduled a horseback ride. It was slightly frightening, but also a thrilling experience to ride a powerful horse whose respect I had to earn on the ride.
#18) Visit new countries
And last but certainly not least I had the privilege to visit exciting new countries again from Ireland, Northern Ireland to Azerbaijan and Ghana to Colombia, Mexico and even our close neighbor the Netherlands received a long anticipated visit by me last year.
That’s 18 examples from more than 50 actions I did for the very first time in my life in 2018. For more inspiration check out 17 things I did for the first time in 2017.
Inspired? Join me and try to find 19 things to do for the very first time in 2019 and celebrate the small and big moments while you are at it.
