Ok. I suppose it is not imperative that I include a 30 before 30 list on my blog, but I do have several things I hope to do and accomplish before I reach that milestone in my life. Fortunately for me I still have just under 7 years to go. Ok...So here goes.
30 things to do before I turn 30
1) Learn how to sing for fun again
2) Backpack through Europe
3) Write my dissertation and get my PhD (as much as I love school I want to be out of school and looking for professorships by my third decade...maybe this is wishful thinking...)
4) Fall in love
5) Cook a gourmet multi-course meal
6) Learn how to knit (bufandas (scarves in Spanish) especially)
7) Commit to Pilates
8) Get a cat
9) Get a dog (make sure cat and dog get along and by that I mean don't try to kill each other)
10) Do research abroad (preferably in Venezia)
11) Learn Italian (maybe I should flip-flop numbers 10 and 11)
12) Learn to play either the oboe or the cello
13) Improve my piano skills so I can go beyond warming myself up :)
14) Visit my close friend Catrina in Vienna
15) Perform in the chorus of an opera
16) Learn an entire role for fun and insights into the character (at this point I am thinking Despina from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte)
17) Establish a daily exercise routine
18) Reach and maintain a healthy diet and weight (ideally between 115 and 120 lbs)
19) Fly a kite
20) Learn how to dance flamenco (at least the basics, my lack of coordination makes this a rather comical goal)
21) Perform a recital devoted to the works of Barbara Strozzi (if she has composed 30-60 mins. worth of mezzo repertoire...sadly the bulk of her works she composed for soprano-aka-herself)
22) Drink a grasshopper without having the worst hangover of my life
23) Sing duets with my sister (two unfachables* in one family)
24) Sing karaoke (as tastefully as possible...)
25) Go to the Met in NYC (there are many Mets in NYC, here I am referring to the famed Metropolitan Opera)
26) Go to Acadia National Park (born and bred in ME, I have no excuse for never having been)
27) Give a lecture/presentation at a noteworthy musicological conference (maybe one devoted to 17th-century music)
28) Participate in a bar crawl (I missed out on some key elements of an undergrad. experience, maybe this one was a good thing given my alcohol tolerance, or lack thereof)
29) Watch the"Monty Python" movies and become more culturally literate
30) Learn how to swallow pills
*unfachable : a made up word based on the German word for category (fach.) Classically trained singers are placed into a fach (voice category) that fits their timbre, range, and several other vocal qualities...The three basic categories for female singers are soprano, mezzo soprano, and contralto. My sister and I are both somewhere vaguely in between soprano and mezzo thus we are un-FACH-able. :)
OK. So in more detail I am going to thresh out my first five to do's in the next 7 years:
1) Learn how to sing for fun again
I have a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and I have a quality conservatory-level vocal training. This has done wonders for my vocal technique and musicality, however, it has been detrimental to me in other ways. Unfortunately I am quite a perfectionist. This is not inherently a negative quality because I always put forth a lot of effort into the things I do and this frequently pays off, but it has become an obstacle I need to overcome in my singing. All throughout high school I took voice lessons and performed in community and school musicals. I sang all the time, and I sang primarily for myself. Once I got to college I began to take music and singing more seriously and I ended up taking it too seriously. There were weeks when I would spend more time crying/cursing myself in the practice room than singing and sometimes I couldn't even get through a 3 minute song in an hour of practicing. I began to dread singing and I have lost my love of performing. Once I latched on to the idea of establishing a phenomenal technique I began to forget why I was singing in the first place. Every once in a while I sing musical theater songs that I performed in high school, I lose myelf in the music, and enjoy singing again, if even for just the duration of the song. I need to find these moments, cherish them, and infuse them in my singing as a whole. I need to sing with my heart again. (I admit that this is incredibly cheesy, but I am merely being honest.)
2) Backpack through Europe
I have been dying to make it across the Atlantic for several years now and unfortunately do not currently have the funds or time to devote to travelling. I had hoped to study abroad as an undergrad. but unfortunately could not fit it in to my 4.5 years without threatening my sanity. The curriculum for a music education degree is extremely intensive and leaves little room for exploration of outside interests, like, studying abroad. The $14 grand for 6 months living with other Americans and essentially being a glorified tourist was also extremely unappealing to me. I really shouldn't judge the quality of study abroad programs considering that I have never participated in one, but I would prefer to be completely immersed in another country's culture and customs even if this sometimes makes me uncomfortable. So anyway, backpacking through Europe...In an ideal world I would backpack for several months, or even a year, so I could tour several countries without sacrificing quality due to lack of time. I don't want to go to Venice, buy a Carnevale mask, take a gondola ride, and then book it to my next stop. I want to spend some quality time everywhere I go, meet people, and learn more about what makes them tick. I hope to have the opportunity to see women's engagement in various genres of music everywhere I go. Of all the places I travel to, Italy is highest on my list: Venice, Ferrara, Florence, Rome, Mantua, Milan, cities where court cultures once thrived, where the glories of the ancient world lie in protected ruin...Someday!
I would write more like I said I would, but, despite no longer having a job, I have a ton of stuff to do and I need to drag myself away from my computer...
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