50 Before 50 Bucket List: 50 Items to Check Off Before Turning 50

It’s hard to believe, but I’m going to be turning 50 in just a few years! I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to accept. Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten used to looking young as an Asian woman with a petite frame that I’ve somehow tricked myself into thinking I’m much younger than I am, but the wrinkles around my eyes don’t lie!

My 20s and 30s were filled with so much activity and pursuing so much in terms of career, kids, adventure, moving, and so many changes that it’s been hard to catch a breath. There were also many struggles and health challenges I’ve had to overcome and surviving it all was my main goal.

Now that my kids are a little older and I’ve conquered some big challenges in life, I have a little more space to think and ponder about what I’d like to do before I turn 50.

It’s never too late to be intentional about how you’d like to live your life!

My husband already turned 50, and when I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday, as a Star Wars fan, he told me he’d like to go to Hollywood Studios to the Star Wars area, Galaxy’s Edge. So, that’s what we did! 

I threw out the idea to his brother, and he was super thoughtful in taking care of the logistics and bringing the whole idea to life. We spent a few days with my husband’s parents and his brother’s family in Orlando. The kids enjoyed it too.

In just a few years, it will be my turn. I realized that rather than just focusing on what I want to do to celebrate the actual day, I should still be dreaming and planning of things to do along the way. There are goals for every decade, and I should not stop after 40.

I spent some time a few weeks ago starting a list for myself of things I’d like to do before I turn 50. I may or may not accomplish everything on the list (I’ll update this post later after I turn 50), but the goal is to identify what I actually would like to do before then!

I’ve found this decade of the 40s has been filled with a lot more going with the flow of my kids’ schedules. I haven’t been as free to plan trips and things I’d like to do because of my daughter’s strict all-star cheer schedule (it is very serious down here in Texas), and the other commitments my kids have with school. But now that my daughter is in high school, it’s even more important for me to think about what I’d like to do, and what I’d like to do with her before she heads off to college in just 4 years!

I hope my before-50 list can inspire you to create a list for yourself that is meaningful and specific to you. I realize that we will all have very different items on our lists, but hopefully, something on my list can trigger an idea for you.

The goal is to be true to yourself and what you think you would really want rather than what you think you want. I find that sometimes the things I thought I wanted were not actually what I wanted at all. Instead, those things were shaped by society, other people’s thoughts and opinions, the influence of people around us and on social media, and who knows where else!

Now that I’m truly mid-age, it’s really time to just shed all that pretense and be real with myself, and I hope that you do that too.

I’m old enough that I really don’t care about other people’s opinions of me anymore. The focus is more on what’s good for my family and what is truly fulfilling and enriching for me in my life.

So, after much thought and consideration, I’ve come up with my own list. Let me finally get into what I’ve put on it! I’ve organized them into categories to make it easier to read.

Health & Fitness

1. Start doing pilates

Have you had an exercise plan that you wanted to start but got put on the back burner? For me, that is pilates. I purchased an online class and even purchased a home pilates machine. Now, it’s just time to schedule it in and make it a part of my weekly schedule. If I start this year, I’m expecting to be in the best shape of my life by 50. Let’s see how it goes!

2. Play tennis

I’ve taken tennis lessons on and off, but this is also one of those things I haven’t made the time to fully commit to. I’d like to make this a regular part of my life by signing up for a local gym with tennis courts and start playing tennis with my husband to improve my game.

Learning & Continuing Education

3. Complete all the online courses I purchased

As an avid learner, so many courses have called my name and I ended up purchasing them without thinking of all the time it would take to complete them. I have a long list of courses I’d like to complete in many different genres, from artistic pursuits, improving culinary skills, photography, business, social media, blogging, and more. I’d love to wrap up my 40s feeling like I finished all that I had set out to do.

4. Learn to use a DSLR camera

Learning to use a DSLR camera has been on the back burner for quite a long time. I took a course during high school and then in grad school to learn how to use a DSLR camera, but with kids, I find myself not having the motivation to pull out my big camera when they are running up ahead during our travels. So, I’ve been whipping out my camera phone instead.

I think the lesson here is to go practice without them around. I have several classes that I already own that can show me how to use the camera I have, and of course, there are YouTube videos too. I think if I made it a point to pull out this camera at least once a month, maybe I can finally learn to use the DSLR camera with ease.

5. Learn to use a drone

Like the DSLR camera, a drone is something I’ve owned for a while and have taken on trips, but with kids, I have just never pulled it out to try it out. It’s time to try it. Of course, there’s the drone license I have to consider too. I’m hoping to make this happen so I can get some interesting video and photography of our travels.

6. Read the books I’ve purchased

Do you have books sitting in your bookcase that you purchased and never read? I have tons. I think this is from living a fast-paced NYC-type lifestyle where I never let myself rest. I think if I created a new bedtime routine where I gave myself some downtime to read, this goal will take care of itself.

7. Read the Bible cover to cover

If you’re a Christian, this may be on your list of things you want to do. Sure, you can read little bits in the Bible app, but reading all 66 books of the Bible cover to cover is a whole different journey. I even purchased a Bible reading tracker to help me visualize my progress. I think I just need to give myself a certain number of chapters I need to read each day to make this goal happen in the next few years.

8. Complete the Duolingo French program

I started the Duolingo French program and was consistent with it for over a year, but I spent a lot of time doing the audio lessons to improve my pronunciation, and never progressed through all the lessons. Sadly, Duolingo has been waiting on me for more than a few months now. I’m going to return to it this year and make the goal about completing the program rather than just checking in each day. Maybe I’ll be conversational in French in a few years!

Travel

9. Visit all 50 states

50 states before 50 sounds like it was meant to be. I have 7 states left to complete this goal, mostly in the northwest region of the U.S. – Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Alaska.

I use this scratch-off map to keep track of where we’ve been with my kids. I have a few more states to go to with the whole family to be able to scratch them off our map, in addition to my 7 above. I use a magnetic wooden hanger to hang it up easily.

10. Visit at least 1 National Park every year

I have all 63 National Parks in the U.S. on my bucket list, but in the next few years, I hope to go to at least one per year. The ones at the top of my list right now are White Sands National Park, Petrified Forest National Park, Yellowstone (I’ve been here with my parents when I was a kid, but would like to take my kids) to see Mammoth Hot Springs, and Grand Canyon National Park on the Biblical creation hiking tour.

11. Soak in unique hot springs somewhere around the world

What’s not to love about soaking in some hot springs? We recently soaked in some hot springs in Dallas, but I’d like to go to some unique natural hot springs like Grutas Tolantongo in Hgo., Mexico, The Springs Resort and Glenwood Hot Springs Pool in Colorado, or Pamukkale hot springs in Turkey. Soaking in hot springs is good for the body and soul!

12. Take my mother-in-law on a trip for her 80th birthday

We love to celebrate our parents’ big milestone birthdays, and my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday is coming up next! We’ll have to see if she has anywhere she wants to go. We also owe my father-in-law a trip because his birthday was in the middle of 2020, and it was not a time to travel.

Maybe we can make her a special video gift like we did for my father-in-law. It was a very special way to celebrate with family around the world.

13. Take the Eurail with my kids on a trip through Europe

I’ve always wanted to take a multi-country Eurail trip where we could see as many countries as we want in one trip. It’s not always easy to find the time with my kids’ schedules, but hopefully we can find a way to take enough time off to make a Eurail adventure happen!

14. Go on a cruise with my family

I’ve been on a cruise before, but I’d like to go on one with my family. I’m not sure which one yet, but if you have any recommendations, let me know in the comments below!

15. Take my kids to Hawaii

We haven’t taken our kids to Hawaii yet, so that’s on our list of places to go with them. The last time I went was before we had kids, so I’m sure it would be a different kind of adventure!

16. Go kayaking in underground caverns

I recently discovered the Gorge Underground, a tour in Kentucky that that allows you to go kayaking in underground caverns. I had no idea this existed! It would be a unique adventure to do with my family. The Lost Sea Adventure in Tennessee is also an underground cavern where you can take a boat ride in a cave.

17. Go on a hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia, Turkey, with my family

I wanted to ride the hot air balloons in Cappadocia for my 40th birthday, but my son was not old enough yet, since there is a minimum age to ride the balloons. He’s 8 and is old enough now, so I’m hoping to be able to go sometime before my daughter leaves for college. The memory would be so much sweeter with our entire family riding it together!

18. Visit Banff, Canada

Banff is so beautiful, and now that we live in Texas, summers are hot! Ever since we moved here, I have been dreaming of traveling north during the summer, and Banff would be a great place to go! Exploring the beautiful waters of Lake Louise and Moraine Lake and seeing the beautiful views while riding the gondola are a couple of the things I’d like to do.

19. Ride a clear kayak with my family

I have a thing for kayaks, especially when it’s a leisurely ride. I have been eyeing this clear kayak tour in Florida and hope to make time for it the next time we go to Orlando. We always seem to be there for trips with extended family or for my daughter’s cheer competition.

20. Go on a bioluminescent tour

I wanted to go on a bioluminescent tour in Holbox, Mexico, but when we visited, the front desk of our hotel told us we could see the bioluminescence in the water on our own at night. Unfortunately, because of all the lights from the hotels in the area, we weren’t able to see it. I still want to see bioluminescent waters, and I found a bioluminescent tour in Florida that is much easier for us to get to that’s a short drive from Orlando.

21. Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

My family and I took a train ride on the Royal Gorge Route Railroad which was a shorter train ride than the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, so we didn’t get a chance to go on this train ride, but I’d like to go on the round-trip train ride from Durango to Silverton in Colorado or on the train and jeep tour now that my kids are a little older hand have more patience!

22. Visit White Pocket, Arizona

If you’ve never heard of White Pocket, it’s an area in Arizona that has unique sandstone formations. There’s something about varigated rocks that I just love. It’s the artist in me that loves to see texture and color variations, and when I see it in nature, it’s eye candy for me. You need a 4 wheel drive vehicle to get there, but from pictures I’ve seen, it looks pretty otherworldly! See it on a map.

23. Visit Ice Castles

Ice Castles is a seasonal attraction with various locations in Colorado, New Hampshire, Minnesota, and Utah. It is created by hand by ice artists where you can take pictures with ice castles, see cool ice sculptures, go down ice slides and see it all lit up with LED lights. You’ll have to whether the cold and dress warmly, but it seems like a unique thing to see during the winter.

24. Visit Lake Powell

Lake Powell is a unique water reservoir in Utah and Arizona on the Colorado River. It’s a vacation destination where you can see unique rock formations and enjoy the water on a kayak tour, hiking nearby, or a photo boat tour of Antelope Canyon. We’ve visited Antelope Canyon before, but might do it again since my son can actually participate in the hike. He was in a baby carrier the last time we went.

25. See Reflection Canyon

The view from Reflection Canyon’s overlook that I saw on Google maps is what made me want to go to see this place. The water loops around rock formations in a way that’s so beautiful and unique. It’s truly stunning and I’d like to go see it for myself. It might take a bit of planning to make this hike with kids to find the shortest route, but if we can do it, the view really looks worth it!

26. Visit a new tropical place with a beautiful beach

I love beaches, especially those with clear turqouise waters. We’ve been to the Riviera Maya in Mexico many times, and I’ve loved the waters there, but it would be nice to find some place new that has the same dreamy turqouise waters that makes you feel like you’re truly on vacation!

Home

27. Declutter all of my belongings

By the time you’re in your 40s and especially if you’ve lived in a house and have kids, chances are you’ve accumulated a lot of things. I’ve held on to too many things that represented my past, including all the baby and kid things that my kids have outgrown. I’d like to enter my 50s with what I need for my future and use up, give away, or sell what I no longer need. It’s a good goal to enter the next decade lighter.

Finances

28. Save for college tuition for my kids

It felt like my kids would be young forever, but my oldest just started high school, which means we only have 4 years until she’s in college. Time to save up for college! It’s coming up soon.

29. Create a diversified portfolio of investments

Although we have some investments, we haven’t been actively looking into other ways to invest. I’d like to dig into this a bit more to research more investment options. I didn’t realize how quickly middle age would creep up on us!

30. Create investment accounts for my children

I’d also like to create investment accounts for my children to set them up with investments they can learn to invest themselves, but also ones that we pour into without them knowing to give to them when they are older.

Organizing Photos

31. Organize family photos and create photo albums

I’m sure I’m not the only one with tons of photos sitting on my phone waiting to be put into photo albums. I’d like to invest some time to finally get travel photo albums made, and family photo albums for each year. I’ve created some in the past, but I have lots of years to catch up on!

32. Create a family travel photo and art gallery wall

We have photos during trips or hired photographers for family photos that deserve to be on our walls rather than buried on some hard drive or usb stick somewhere. I’d love to finally get a gallery wall created of our favorite photos throughout the years.

Entrepreneurship

33. Build out the websites I have purchased

As an entrepreneur, I have a lot of ideas that I’ve wanted to pursue that have been left on the back burner. As I near 50, I’d like to finally bring those ideas to life.

34. Create passive income

Passive income is everyone’s dream, and for years I’ve had people tell me it’s impossible. I’ve finally met people who truly do have passive income now (after putting in the hard work to build the income streams out), and they have inspired me to pursue these streams myself. Although passive income streams can be slow to build out, I love the idea of assets working for you long after the work has been put in.

35. Sell out of my baby products inventory

I have a business I built with baby products that I was passionate when my baby was young. I’ve come to discover that this is not the business I would like to continue with going forward, so I’d like to phase out the current products I have to make room for what I’d like to sell in the future.

36. Create art of my past travels

I was known as an artist in my youth, winning art competitions, but never thought of pursuing it as an adult until I was in my 40s. Since I love to travel so much, what better way to merge my two interests than to paint my past travels? I’m hoping to make some art I enjoy creating using a variety of mediums (watercolor, gouache, pastel, oil pastel, acrylic, and oil paints).

I already have all the supplies, so might as well put them to use! If you enjoy creating art, you can join me on my journey on my creative blog.

37. Create art prints of my art

Once I create art I love, I’d love to share them with the world through art prints. I’m not here yet, but hopefully by the time I’m 50, I’ll have quite a collection going! I will be posting my artwork on my art Instagram account.

Food

38. Cook from the cookbooks I own

Do you collect cookbooks? I have been, and I’ve got quite a collection, along with ones I seem to grab from the library from time to time. I’d love to finally make the time to try out the recipes from these cookbooks for my own family. It’s also nice to add some new recipes to your culinary repertoire.

39. Learn to cook my favorite Korean dishes

As a Korean-American, my family defaults to a lot of Korean food. I’ve been meaning to learn how to make the favorite dishes I always order at restaurants, but somehow I’ve always had recipes I cook at home and the ones I eat out at restaurants. I’d love to finally learn how to make my favorite Korean dishes along with my family’s favorites. This will be a personal achievement for me!

40. Learn to cook my favorite ethnic foods

Just like my goal to learn Korean dishes, I’d also like to learn how to make my favorite ethnic foods along with my family’s favorites too. Again, there are certain dishes we always seem to order out at restaurants that I’d love to master at home! Not just so that we can eat these dishes anytime, but we can buy healthier ingredients to use so that I can feel good about serving my family a potentially healthier option.

41. Create and follow a meal plan that supports my health goals

I’m sure we all have health goals we’d like to achieve that we haven’t quite met yet. I sometimes have food sensitivities that I haven’t been quite as vigilant about that would eliminate quite a lot of digestive issues.

I have a wealth of knowledge at my fingertips… it’s time to get myself into the best health and care for myself as I’ve cared for others.

42. Learn to bake bread at home

Learning to bake bread is not necessarily attached to my health goal, but it is something I’ve always wanted to just do at home. I have a whole bag of wheat berries waiting for me to grind into the most wholesome bread for my family. I’ll report back with how I did!

43. Learn to use a freeze dryer

If you can’t tell by now, I’m a little bit of a health nut. I studied nutrition and healthy cooking while living in New York City. One day, I discovered a YouTube channel talking all about freeze drying and I was hooked! A couple of years ago, I purchased a freeze dryer, but the sad news is that I haven’t used it yet!

Everything has a learning curve, and with having to move our house again, we’ve never gotten around to trying it out….but, I will! Before 50!

44. Learn to bake a blueberry pie

This goal totally goes against my health goals, but it’s just one of those things I want to learn how to make because it’s been on my mind recently. I rarely buy desserts at the grocery store, but when I do, it seems to be ice cream and blueberry pie. This is my sign that I should learn how to make it! Is there something you’ve wanted to learn how to make?

Hobbies

45. Create my own embroidery patterns

This is a random goal, but when I moved to Texas about 5 years ago, I started embroidering after I found a few classes on it. I don’t always have time to pursue it, but for a period of time, I had a lot of fun. I’d like to create some and post them in my Etsy shop. I think some things are worth doing just for the creative challenge.

46. Go on an Urban Sketchers Symposium or AsiaLink Urban Sketchers event

If you don’t know about urban sketching, it is when people sketch on location, whether they are outside, indoors, or traveling somewhere. The goal is to sketch the scene that you see, often with watercolor and ink.

There’s an Urban Sketchers Symposium every year and also AsiaLink Sketch Walk, which is one that’s organized in Asia. I’m hoping to attend one of these as it fits my schedule.

47. Go on a plein air painting trip to paint with artists in nature

For the past few years, I’ve been following Eric Rhoad’s live art online events – Watercolor Live, Plein Air Live, Realism Live, Gouache Live, etc. It’s what introduced me to plein air painting.

I did my first plein air event earlier this year, which was a competition, but I hope to just go on some leisurely plein air painting trips where I can paint in nature in some place new.

48. Learn to paint pastel landscapes

I have a lot of art goals, and this is another one of them! I already have the supplies waiting for me, and there is a pastel landscape workshop this week that I’m signing up for, so I’ll be checking this one off pretty soon!

Blogging & YouTube

49. Write about all past adventures

This goal may not pertain to you, but it’s very specific to me. I’ve been wanting to write about all the past adventures I’ve done with my family on this blog and it always felt like a daunting project because we’ve done so much, and it would require me to sort through all the photos! Time is ticking, and I really want to make this happen before my daughter is out of high school! You can subscribe to see how I do with goal!

50. Create videos about our past adventures

As if the previous task is not overwhelming enough, I also want to go back and try to piece together videos of the places I’ve taken videos for. I’ve been a bit camera shy, so I don’t always put myself in the frame, but I have video footage of my family from many different locations. I am a mom-parazzi, as I’ve called myself for the sheer amount of photos and videos I take when out and about with my kids.

I have over 165k items in my photo library that is waiting for me to go through. What have I done to myself? If I am successful in processing all that I have, it will be quite a feat! I will be posting them on our fledgling YouTube channel, so you can check it out there.

Whew! That took a while to think through and write about!

Now that I finished writing 50, I can still think of more things I’d like to do… like learn how to play piano chords easily and learn how to play guitar. If you have more than 50, you can add more. A little bit of progress towards something you want to do is better than leaving it off the list!

I’m not sure if I will be able to check all of the things on this list in the next 3 years, but now that I have documented my personal, professional, and travel goals, I’m definitely going to try!

I know that some of these goals, however small, are worth pursuing because I’ve seen some of the same desires pop up again and again over 10-20 years! It is really time to make them happen, just for the joy of it.

It’s time to dust off those dreams and desires, big or small, and take some steps towards them.

This is my invitation to you.

If you haven’t written down your list, make some time to think about it and write it down.

I’ve created a 50 before 50 template here that you can download, so you can jot them down and hang it up somewhere to remind you of what’s important to you. You don’t want to jot them down somewhere and never have them see the light of day. Hopefully, this will help you remind yourself to plan that next trip or schedule in that thing you want to learn.

If you are reading this way before 50 (maybe you’re in your early 40s), I realize I didn’t add some of the things I already did during my 40s that I’m glad that I did! I thought I’d include some things here just in case you need some more ideas:

• Go on a hot air balloon ride – We went on one with Balloons Over Bagan in Myanmar
• Visit a country whose culture is very unfamiliar to you
• Visit Japan
• See Gardens by the Bay and ArtScience Museum in Singapore
• Visit Seoul, Korea, and try Korean BBQ
• Go on a hike in Antelope Canyon in Arizona
• See Horseshoe Bend in Arizona
• Visit Branson, Missouri, with your family
• Visit the Smoky Mountains National Park and Gatlinburg, Tennessee

• Go to Hot Springs, Arkansas
• Take a ferry and stay overnight in Holbox, Mexico
• Swim in a cenote near Tulum or Riviera Maya in Mexico
• Go to a state fair
• Tour an underground cave
• Walk on a salt flat
• Visit Big Bend National Park
• Go sledding down sand dunes in Monahans Sandhills State Park in Texas

• Take your kids to KidZania
• Take a ride on the Royal Gorge train in Colorado
• See the Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Take photos of colorful rocks at Paint Mines Interpretive Park in Colorado
• Visit New Orleans, Louisiana
• Take a beach vacation to the Emerald Coast in Florida
• Celebrate your parents’ milestone birthdays (65, 70, 75, 80, 85, etc.)
• Plan an epic birthday trip for your 50th!

There’s so much to do and see in this world. I hope you make some time to think about all the things you’d like to do, before you turn 50 and beyond! You can download my 50 before 50 bucket list printable to make it easy to keep track of what you’ve done!

Happy planning!

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