What This Blog Is… And What It Is Not

When I decided to start a blog chronicling a year’s worth of experiences, it was with the intention of challenging myself to learn and grow. Many people reach a point in their life when they’re happy to know all they will ever need to know and content with the same routines and experiences. I’m not like that and I hope I never will be. Still, I have a personality that stubbornly resists change and, as I get older, I find myself growing more cautious when it comes to trying new things. Therefore, I thought this would be a good motivator for me: a place where I challenge myself to experience forty new things in my 40th year and document those experiences for everyone (all three of you) to read.

Having said that, I have no intentions of losing my mind. At least, not more than I already have. This blog won’t be Kristina Does Fear Factor. I will not be eating live eels, covering myself in stinging insects or burying myself alive with a hundred wriggling snakes just for the sake of saying I tried something new. This blog also won’t be Kristina’s Extreme Makeover. I will not be going under the knife for a thinner nose or bigger breasts, nor will I be subjecting myself to liposuction or a facelift. I may, possibly, indulge in a little Botox, but that’s it. Really. I promise.

This blog will not be about testing my limits of physical or mental endurance (thus, no hiking the Appalachian Trail or visiting relatives for an extended period of time). Likewise, it won’t be about acquiring a bunch of stuff I’ve never owned before because I don’t consider materialism to be an experience. I won’t be blogging about forty trips abroad—much as I’d love to—because my budget won’t allow it. I also won’t be blogging about forty EXCITING AND DARING ADVENTURES because I’d be exhausted when the year is over and I don’t want to spend my forty-first year in traction. I hope not to blog about anything boring, but I do imagine there are things I haven’t experienced that many other people have. So, I hope you, dear readers, will bear with me if I learn to change my car’s oil in the next year (it’s not on my list of things I want to learn, but who knows?) and blog about it with great enthusiasm. Hard to imagine, but anything is possible.

This blog is not at attempt to prove how cool I am, how young I am, how fearless I am or how much money I have. It is also not a traditional journal-blog. If you want to know more about who I am and what I do, you can visit my main blog KristinaWright.com for the more day-to-day stuff. Though this is a blog about being a woman of a certain age and my links will reflect that, it is not intended to put anyone down or exclude anyone. In fact, I hope it will be an inspiration and I will try, where possible, to include photos and links so that anyone who is interested can find out more for themselves.

This is not a one-way blog. I look forward to comments, questions and suggestions on things I should experience. I have a list—a short list—and I’m looking for ideas! I may grow tired of this blog by December, but I hope not. I hope it will challenge and motivate me to experience everything life has to offer-- as much as I can handle in one short year, anyway.
That is what this blog is… and what it is not. I hope I will gain readers as I gain experiences. I’m counting on it, actually. It’s going to be hard to keep pushing myself to experience new things if there isn’t anyone out there to hold me accountable!