The First Step

On July 11, 2015, I will turn 40.  To be honest, this fact doesn't scare me as much as it did on July 11, 2005 - but it's still a big, round number.  This impending milestone - and the events of the last 2 years of my life - have led me to reflect on what it means to be alive.  Really alive.

As I reflect on the 39 years I've been kicking around this planet, I realize that I've done some pretty cool stuff.  I've been married.  I've given birth to two children.  I've taught about 1400 middle school children.  I've read countless books.  I've traveled to some pretty cool places.  I've met special and memorable people.  I've made good friend friends.  I've learned.  I've made mistakes.  I've lived a good life.

But when I look back over those 39 years, I realize that during that entire lifetime, I've played things very safe.  I've always been very careful to do what is expected of me - to be appropriate.  I've always played by the rules (sometimes obsessively so!).  I worked hard to be the good girl and do exactly what was expected of me.

That's all well and good.  It's gotten me pretty far!

But I want to live the second half of my life a bit more brazenly.  That's where this idea comes from.

See, my first 40 years were extremely safe.  I was cautious, careful, and deliberate.  Now I'm not planning to undergo a personality transplant.  I am, after all, who I am.

No, the second half of my life is about NOT living in fear.  It's about identifying what I want, who I want to be, and then going for it.

My 40th year will be marked with 40 Acts of Courage.  The plan is compile a list of 40 Acts that require some degree of courage on my part.  I'm going for 40 things that I have been reticent of doing in the past.  I plan to do 40 things that scare me.

And in tackling my list of 40 Acts of Courage, I hope to set the tone for a more courageous and more authentic second act to my life.

I can't wait to begin!

-rfk