The following is a guest post from 30 Days of Lists Ambassador Kristin of rukristin papercrafts
We are listers. Once we embrace it, we can take it to the next level and achieve extraordinary things.
I was watching this show on TV the other day (Almost Human) when listing made an unexpected and really awesome cameo. The whole show is set in the future, where consumer technology has progressed to fascinating levels. The main character came home and flipped on a button, turning on an enormous projected visualization in front of him, filled with virtual post-it notes grouped into categories and lists, tons of lists.
This really drove home to me that no matter how far into the future we project, lists are an essential part of who and what we are. Looking in the other direction, some of the most ancient things found, scrolls and such, are rather mundane listings of things – contents of ships’ hulls, pyramid burial rooms and even many parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Listing is eternal, necessary and, in many ways, cathartic. You can’t just run around all day with so much information locked away in your head, especially if you want to convey it or share it with other people.
At the beginning of the year, I set out a group of intentions. This list was the result of a long time spent thinking, refining, and planning. One of those intentions is to share my story and I knew that writing a big list – especially one that I’m choosing to share – will help keep me accountable to myself and to my friends. My 29 Goals before I’m 29 is a year-long, extremely ambitions list that I have no doubt I will not be able to complete…but that’s the point! I want to reach big and try to achieve and do as much as I can, and I want to have an easy way to share, track and update. Lists are the key that will hold this whole unwieldy thing together – one big list and a whole bunch of smaller lists nested underneath it.
What I love most about being online is that it can really be anything you want it to be. So it’s an amazing testament to Kam and Amy that 30 Days of Lists is surrounded by a thriving and supportive community on nearly every form of social media. So I encourage you to not just play along, but share your list and your story. There’s something brave in believing in what you have to say enough to put it down on paper, to let the ink seep in just the way you want it to.
We come together a couple of times a year and let Kam and Amy lead us on a month-long journey through thirty separate lists. We learn more about who we are, we learn more about who we were, and we learn more about who we want to become. Storytelling doesn’t have to be perfect prose. We don’t have editors or English teachers standing over our back forcing us to take our thoughts and weave them into long-form essays with perfect sentence structure. The first step to telling your story is getting your ideas out on paper. Listing is the best way (for me) to do it. I don’t need to worry about the burden of grammar, punctuation and all the stuff you’re ‘supposed’ to worry about when writing.
Be brave with 30 Days of Lists this March, and consider taking it a step further by exploring more of your own story through past rounds of 30 Days of Lists, pick up the bundle, or play along one round at a time.
Kristin is a millennial storyteller who loves documenting her everyday-life and awesome adventures. As the owner of rukristin papercrafts, a venue to share information and inspiration on creative ways to tell your story, she encourages others to dream big, find their voice, and be the author of their own adventure. An introvert who loves community, she loves meeting new friends online. Let her write you a thoughtful note or drop her a line on twitter or instagram.
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When I started listing in September I kept it private, but positive. I didn’t want to go back and read anything negative. It forced me to focus a little more at times, but it was well worth it. My husband recently picked up my notebook and took the time to really read it, he said he learned a lot about me.
I’m thankful for the listing community, to Amy and Kam, but mostly to my friend who introduced me to the concept.