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The year I turned 25, I thought I had it all figured out. I was saving for a down payment on my first apartment, working as a paralegal in Honolulu, and training to run my first marathon. I was full of rosy optimism and grand plans for the future. Being the type-A person that I am, I decided to start a list of “30 things to do before I turn 30″ which included big things like buying that apartment and finishing the marathon. I also had a few “random” items thrown in, like trying out a local shrimp truck, taking piano lessons, and doing a hike under a full moon. But far and away the largest part of my list was travel-related items. Oh, how I love to travel. My list included things like “share a romantic kiss in Paris” and “hug a koala bear in Australia” and I figured that 5 years would give me enough time for a few trips to the various continents in order to check everything off.

At 28, I was slowly letting go of the dream of owning an apartment, due to the ridiculous prices in the housing market it Honolulu. So I cashed out my IRA, sold everything I owned except what would fit in my Toyota Camry, and set out with a friend for a six month trip to Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. When we landed in Australia, my first plan was how we’d make it to the zoo to pet a koala. Yet I kept being thwarted! On our first attempt, we arrived an hour after the feeding time so the koalas were asleep (who knew they sleep something like 18 hours a day!) and then two days into our stay, I got violently ill and spent most of the week stuck in our hostel. On a last ditch effort on our very last day in Sydney, the koalas had been removed to a separate exhibit so my friend, trying to cheer me up, surrounded me with plush koala bear dolls in the gift shop. It just wasn’t the same.

My six month trip eventually turned into nine when I added a solo trip to Paris for a month-long writing workshop and took my time in Europe before returning home to reality. So did I get that romantic kiss after all? Nope! It was slowly becoming apparent to me that I was not going to check off a majority of the travel items on my list. I also came back in the fall of 2008, just as the mortgage crisis was pulling the entire country into a recession. Suddenly, I couldn’t find a job and my savings were completely depleted. With seven months and counting til my 30th birthday, I was starting to feel really disappointed in myself and the fact that I wasn’t going to finish something that I’d set out to do. I’m not the kind of person who takes these things lightly. I could feel the negativity creeping in and realized that I needed to make a change.

Then suddenly one day I woke up and that proverbial light bulb went on. Was I crazy? Here I am disappointed that I didn’t get to see the pyramids before I turned 30. Boo hoo! I’d been to 18 countries in less than a year, filled up an entire passport, and had eaten my way through most of Southeast Asia. I was living my dream of traveling and writing about it. I had wonderful friends, family, and my health. What was there to be down about?

After an attitude adjustment, I took up the task of editing my list. Instead of unrealistic travel destinations, I added in things that challenged my comfort zone here at home, like skydiving and posing nude for an art class. (Guess which was scarier?) I paid for a meal for the person behind me in a drive thru. I finally took that midnight hike.

By the time the big 3-0 rolled around, I had finished all but two items from my list. My 25 year-old self would have disapproved of coming so close and not finishing. But my 30 year old self knew better. Those two items? They got moved to the “35 before 35″ along with that romantic kiss in Paris. Although I learned to be flexible and to see things in a positive light, I still believe in having goals!

So what’s on your list? Leave a comment below.

Bio:
Malia Yoshioka is the resident Hawaii expert over at WhyGo Hawaii where she dishes out tips on where to stay, where to play, and what to eat on your trip to Hawaii. She’s currently working on her 35 before 35, getting that romantic kiss (if it kills her!) and hugging those pesky koalas.

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It was amazing to sit through the agonizing process of getting feedback. It felt like opening up my artistic heart, putting it on a chopping block, and handing everyone forks and saying “Dig In.” And boy, did they! The feedback was immensely appreciated- both positive and constructive. Our film will be the better for it and I’ll never forget it.

If you’d like to watch a funny video that shows me introducing the film, check this out:

Stay tuned for “A Perfect Ending” out in the 2012 festival circuit.

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Janelle is Israel, Summer 2011

Part of the goal in creating my “Life To Do List,” was to manifest certain dreams into achievable, tangible existence. There are lofty goals included on the list, some of them requiring great funds, great bravery, and great luck. Crossing off #70 from the list (Revisit Israel) was purely the latter option.

Being Jewish is something that I’m openly proud of. I am active in the Jewish community of Los Angeles, and am even a featured writer for “Oy Gay,” a blog in the Jewish Journal in which I speak about the cross section of my identities. One of the greatest hopes that many a Jew can have is a chance to visit the land of Israel.

Janelle & Friends in Israel, Summer 1999

I visited Israel when I was 14 years old with a group of 118 of my peers from the San Francisco Bay Area. We spent six weeks gallivanting about the country (which is the same size as the state of New Jersey). I snorkeled in the Red Sea, floated in the Dead Sea, spent a week training with the Israeli Army, and made memories that have stayed with me for over a decade.

Longing to return to the country that has changed so much in the 12 years since I was last there, I never dreamed I’d get to travel for free when I added this item to my Life To Do List almost three years ago. You can imagine my surprise and gratitude when I was asked to bring 40 young Jews to Israel with me on a Birthright trip. This amazing organization sends Jews to Israel in order to inspire and connect them to their heritage. Did I mention everyone travels for free? My passion for Judaism and inclusion could not have made me a more willing staff member.

I can’t explain the joy that I felt during the 10 days that I traveled in Israel this month. I can’t explain how all of the pieces seemed to come together to make an unimaginably supportive environment: open minded travelers, passionate guides, giving soldiers, and devoted staff. We got the whole kitten caboodle on our trip and the beauty of the country was the icing on the cake.

I will be writing multiple posts about Israel in the coming weeks, but for now, feast your eyes on the best of the best in photography from my recent trip. And thank you so much to Birthright for asking me to be a part of something so amazing.

If you are a Jew between the ages of 18-26 and want to visit Israel for free, visit Birthright and register for the trip at:

http://www.birthrightisrael.com

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One of my favorite things about Gramoo was her love of travel. She was a globe-trotter before it became cool. I loved visiting her and hearing her stories and exploring her home that could have easily been confused for a world art museum. With all its artifacts and treasures from her travels, that home and those stories is exactly the model I’ve always grown up aspiring to. One of the pieces that seemed central to the tracking of her journey was a special world map that she had taped to the wall of her office. When she passed away, I asked the rest of my family if I could keep the map. They graciously agreed.

Since her passing, I’ve safely kept the folded map in a drawer in my home. Every once in a while I would bring it out and tell a houseguest about the magic person that was my grandmother. I’d point to the little red circles I’d made on the map when I inherited it to mark the places that my grandmother had been. I longed to frame the map, mount it on cork board and display it with my own pins- taking special note of the times in my travels that I was overlapping terrain my own Gramoo had once visited. I also take special glee in the spaces and marks that I get to make that are my own.

With the nudge of some special people in my life who on accident inspired me to take the framing of this map into my own hands, I recently crossed #4 off My Life To Do List, Frame my grandmother’s world map.” I love that the map is actually older than I am, having been printed by National Geographic in 1981. It still shows Czechoslovakia as one country! Until I have that fantastic home with all the artifacts from around the world, I will gladly display this map and the few trinkets I’ve collected along my own journey.

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Ageism, also called age discrimination is stereotyping of and discrimination against individuals or groups because of their age. It is a set of beliefs, attitudes, norms, and values used to justify age based prejudice and discrimination. This may be casual or systematic.

To clarify, my ageism is mostly directed at myself. I often lack the confidence to believe I belong in a given circle simply because I am younger. When I find myself at a cocktail party mixing and mingling with people are “more mature,” I feel shy and unwelcome. When people look at me, speak to me, or ask about my career, I fear that behind their inquiry is a secret judgment. I imagine they are thinking “Oh how cute,” in the same way I speak to my little dogs.

Where did this come from? Why am I prejudicing and discriminating against myself?

The answer: because other people do. The number of times that someone has responded with “Oh, well you’re still young,” or “You’ll learn this later” is uncountable. Even when people find out my current girlfriend is 11 years my senior, the inevitable “cougar” comments often follow. Throughout my day, I am given signs on a regular basis that my age is somehow a disqualifier.

I wrote about a tangential trend in which young people (who are often less affluent) are seen to have nothing of value to offer. You can read my post entitled “When Being Poor Makes You a Rich Person,” if you are curious. In the piece, I share my thoughts about “all the ways that my friends and I give even though we seemingly have nothing to offer.”

By no means do I feel that I am done learning or that I have experienced enough life to have authority. I know that I have much to learn and that, assuming I live a long life, I’ve got a lot to look forward to. Having always been a fan of mentorship, I continue to be enthralled and captivated by those in my life who simply are older and wiser. Alas, I am realizing that does not make them better.

My self-imposed therapy to end my internal ageism is beginning today. I refuse to believe that I am inferior just because I am younger or poorer than someone else. As I shared in a recent email inspired by the young ladies at the Unatti Home I will be vising in Nepal, some of the poorest people in this world have the most to offer. After all, didn’t Obama win the White House because a whole bunch of people got off their tuchus and voted?

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Speaking of which, I recently read an amazing book called “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” by Garth Stein. The story is told entirely from the perspective of a dog named Enzo. If that in itself doesn’t make you want to read it, perhaps the metaphor of racing and speed will prove to valuable in application to your personal life. I personally gained a lot of perspective and found myself thoroughly engaged in this tale about the trials that life puts us through (symbolized by rain in the novel) and the approach which we, as drivers, must have when overcoming life’s speed bumps. I’ve actually been sad the past couple of evenings since finishing the novel because I no longer get to spend the last few moments of my day with Enzo and his family.

This got me thinking… “What other books should I be reading?” I’ve attempted to have reading be a focus of my goals and even added an item to my “Life To Do List” (see #32, Read 15 of the books on the “50 Essential Reads by Contemporary Authors”). However, I have realized that I am not a big fan of the list I originally aspired to read and instead, am enjoying the books that my dear friends are sending me. As such, I’ve decided to reach out to you all and ask for your suggested reads and will be revising #32 on the list and replacing it with my own list of “50 Essential Reads by Contemporary Authors” as compiled by myself and my readers.

Here’s where you come in:

In the comments below, please suggest a book by a contemporary author that you have personally read and felt moved by. I think I’d like to stick to fictional novels as I prefer a little escapism before bedtime and tend to get my fill of non-fiction via my preferred media, documentary film and television. If you could provide a link to the book on Amazon in your comment as well as the reason you loved it and think I would, that would be super helpful.

If Oprah can do it… so can we! And if you’d like to learn more about this particular novel, and it’s author check out this amazing video:

*Photo Courtesy http://www.automobilemag.com

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Off The Path Productions in Nepal

Being that I just turned 27 whole years old (officially in my late 20′s!), a couple of things have shifted suddenly. My health insurance went up an additional $55 a month, for one. The second, is that I think people are starting to believe me when I tell them I am a documentary filmmaker. More importantly, I am starting to believe it myself.

When I set out to create this blog more than two years ago, I was experiencing the repercussions of my first big leap of faith after joining the world of starving artistry. I was 25 years old , had just left my first big-girl job, and was hoping to travel the world and gain life experience. Ever the virgo, I created my “Life To Do List” in the hopes of having a guide for at least the first five years of this transitional time in my life.

Two years and over 30% of the Life To Do List completed, and I am more sure than ever that taking the leap of faith was more than worth it. I have traveled around the world, had my work featured on important travel sites like LonelyPlanet.com and have started to get paid to edit travel videos, behind the scenes featurettes, and documentary films. It’s working!

Very recently, I had a dream meeting with an incredible woman who is inspired by the children of the country of Nepal. As you may know, I traveled there with my best friend to begin filming my first feature documentary about the incredible children of the Unatti Foundation.  This woman has decided to bring us along with her and her team as they bring music to the children of Nepal. My best friend and I will be documenting their efforts on the ground and then will be staying to continue working on our own documentary. We leave on December 13th of this year. This is a dream come true!

While I’ve got a ton of work to do and multiple opportunities in the pipeline, my Co-Producer Patty and I still have to pinch ourselves. It took us a very long time to get here and many dollars of investment and the energy and support of so many individuals. And even when I pushed my brand new business card across the table which says “Janelle K. Eagle, Off the Path Productions,” I am still baffled that someone else takes us as seriously as we are asking them to. After all, I wouldn’t even have had the business card unless I had written it down (#10 on the Life To Do List!).

There will be much more content coming to this site in the next couple weeks and months so I hope you will stay tuned. If you’d like a sneak peak at what we’ll be experiencing, check out this video I created for some brownie troops in Los Angeles (yeah, you read that correctly):

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The building off which I plummeted 108 stories

As you know, many of the posts I write on this site are about crossing items off my “Life To Do List.” Commonly known as a bucket list, this fun motivating device is something I use to inspire myself, remind me to go after my dreams, and challenge myself to make things happen that seem unattainable.

#61 on that list was “Go Skydiving/Bungee Jumping.” Today, I can cross that item off the list because I jumped off a hotel last night. You read that correctly… I purposefully plummeted myself down an extremely long drop for the thrill of it.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I do know that I did NOT expect to be as nervous as I was. The anticipation on the way to that tall tower was borderline overwhelming. Alas, I had tweeted it, facebooked it, and already put it on the life to do list… so chickening out was definitely not an option.

Here’s a video I made about the experience:

The good news… I’m alive! I live to tell! Grand scheme of things, it was an amazing experience. To be standing atop the tower overlooking the Las Vegas strip is something worth the $7 elevator ride in itself. If you sign up for “Sky Jump,” however, you can do what I did and take a leap of faith that a wire and a group of talented stunt staff will get you to the bottom alive.

Las Vegas was an ideal backdrop for the entire experience because even though I jumped at close to 9pm, the weather was sublime. It was an extremely clear night so the views were spectacular. The fact that a DVD and a couple photos comes standard with the package makes the entire thing a pretty sweet deal.

Comparatively speaking, I’ve gone paragliding off the Himalayas which took a lot longer and definitely got me air-sick. This short sweet flight down 108 stories was a thrilling adventure and a welcome removal from the list.

Average Cost: $99-$125

NOT RECOMMENDED if you have any fear of heights. Even a little bit.

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Then my dear friends Adam & Jen decided to have their combined bachelor/bachelorette party be at a campground in the middle of nowhere. In particular, it was at the San Pedro Lake in Northern California… oh and it was 107 degrees outside during the day. And there was no electricity. And no restaurants. It was just 20 of us… in tents… on a lake… and it was amazing.

We had such a blast and it was so amazing to get WAY outside the city and WAY outside my comfort zone- exactly the point of putting this item on my life to-do list in the first place. I cherish my friends and I cherish when they are present and supportive and challenge me.

And I had such a good time… I would even do it again sometime!

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This says it all...

Where is there? Well… there was Wisconsin. Specifically, the Wisconsin Dells. This quaint little area of the country is world-renowned, actually. For what, you might ask? Waterparks! This may seem like a very exciting thing to be in town for. However, I was there during a rainy storm in the middle of April Showers and did not get to hang out on or near a single waterslide.

Drive Through Cheese Curds

Beautiful Wisconsin

Many thanks to Keshet, the organization that flew me out for the training and on accident, helped me cross this item off the list!

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