I'm afraid of mediocrity. I'm afraid that if I don't do anything with my life, it'll be worth nothing. I don't need to change the world... but I need to change MY world.
In 2011, the year I turn 21, I'm setting out to achieve twenty one goals. Twenty one things that must be completed by 11:59 pm, December 31, 2011.
Hey hey! Merry Christmas to everyone, hope your holiday season is going alright.
So here we are on New Year's Eve Eve. I'm a little over 24 hours away from the biggest year of my life so far and I'm getting really excited. I think if anything my biggest fear at the moment is money to do a lot of this but I'm working as much as possible during the holidays in order to save some cash. I've always been really bad at budgeting so I'm going to really have to be careful this year and save. I'm a really bad impulse buyer. Gah.
Anyway, I've been working on my scrapbook where I'm putting any info or notes on my goals. Realised that I should probably pick my ;twelve important books' so I can get them out to read asap! I'm doing one a month for goal number 10, although a few of them are a series of books. I have produced the following list:
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Series" by Douglas Adams
"The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien
"Lord of the Flies" by William Goulding
"A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking
"Jonathon Livingston Seagull" by Richard Bach
"How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie
"And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
"Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov
"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
"1984" by George Orwell
"The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama
Looking at the list of books has actually got me quite excited - as does the rest of the list, naturally. Not sure if I'm going to include Eoin Colfer's addition to the Hitchhiker's Guide, depends on how fast I read the others.
I've decided the first goal on the list I'm going to shoot for is to get my motorcycle license. Maybe I can snag a motorbike for my 21st birthday :)
26 hours. I'll be back on New Year's Day with the first video of my journey. Here we go!
Pay a hundred bucks, see a band you like. Good music, good fun.
I guarantee you that seeing U2 in conert is the furthest thing from merely 'seeing a band you like'.
After having bought tickets months ago for U2's long-awaited return to Perth (12 years since they last performed here), the long wait for the concer to arrive was killer. Before the Defeating Mediocrity idea came about, I had a semi-list of things I wanted to do before thirty. There weren't many items on the list I can remember, but the one I always talked about was seeing U2 perform 'Where The Streets Have No Name' live in concert.
Myself, my sister Emma and mutual friend Harmony rocked up outside Paterson's Stadium at around 12ish, joining the line outside gate 24 to be first onto the ground for general admission tickets. They were numbering hands which was quite a good idea; it made sure people who'd gotten there early got in first and couldn't be barged out of the way by selfish people later. The three of us got numbers 270-272. We waited in the shade and had a couple snacks, one of my year 12 friends' family was in line right behind us so we had some company.
Lining up
We finally got inside just after 4:30 and ran onto the field. I've been to Subi before to watch football games but something like the following is just something else:
'The Claw'
'The Claw', as U2 call it, is absolutely massive. It's very impressive, with three people hanging in chairs under each leg during the concert to operate the spotlights. We walked to the front and assumed that the barricade would be as close as we could get, but we were lucky enough to be able to go INSIDE the outer circle and even closer to the stage than people who got RedZone tickets (I know, right? Weird). There was another wait until the concert started, around two hours, but everything was totally worth it to get the view we did.
Emma agrees - good view!
The countdown is almost finished!
Jay-Z appeared onstage with his crew at 6:30, all dressed in black and looking thoroughly gangsta (except for the one white guy playing trombone at the back). The sun was setting at this point so it was a nice scene. Of course, no concert is complete down under without bogans, and they were out in full force for Jay-Z, singing all the lyrics and leaving before U2 arrived. They were a bit of fun, though.
Jay-Z gets everyone to bounce
The stadium waits for U2
There was another wait of about 45 minutes after Jay-Z left for the stage to be refitted for U2. Mostly it was just taking stuff off, it looked pretty bare once the band were ready to come on. Once they did, though, the audience was absolutely on fire for them. The only was I could describe the feeling when a presence like U2's comes on stage is emotional. You literally feel an atmosphere in the area that you don't get from anyone else. The band started off by playing Beautiful Day, so needless to say there was lots of jumping and singing along.
Bono whips the crowd into action
The band rock it out
The setlist was pretty good; all the classics featured at some point (In The Name Of Love, Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Vertigo, Elevation etc.) and there were quite a few numbers from the new album (Magnificent, Get On Your Boots, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight). I managed to capture a great video of 'City Of Blinding Lights':
There were some great moments during the night, too. Some lesser-known and played U2 songs featured; one being during 'In The Little While' when Bono picked a girl from right in front of the stage and pulled her up with him:
Bono with Emily
She looked absolutely shellshocked but sang along anyway, Bono took her across one of the bridges with him and got on one knee to kiss her hand. The crowd all loved it :) There were plenty of moments where the rotating bridges passed over us:
This is just how close we were - the bridges rotate and Edge walked practically right above us.
Bono just a few metres away.
Great shot of the band in action.
The 360 screens above the band.
The band left the stage at 10, only to come back for an encore which included 'One' and finally 'Where The Streets Have No Name'. I'm not ashamed to say that I cried towards the end of the latter, I've been waiting for eight years to see that song live and to be a few metres away from the band playing it was just an incredible experience. The band left again but came back for a second encore featuring 'Ultraviolet', 'With Or Without You' and 'Moment of Surrender'. I cried again during 'With Or Without You' because to be perfectly honest, I missed the person who was going to originally attend that concert with me. I've resolved that as soon as it's possible, I'll fly the two of us anywhere in the world for her to experience the show, because it's just so overpowering and really lets you feel something rather than just sing along.
So in summary, it was amazing. U2 don't lose anything between studio and stage - the music still sounds great. The spots we had to watch from were great - not overcrowded but incredibly close to the band. And nothing says how much I enjoyed the night than this photo which will stay with me for as long as I live:
REJOICE, for the list is filled! Both with Christmas joy and 21 items to complete.
1. Record a five song EP
2. Get my motorcycle license
3. Donate blood
4. Busk for a day
5. Take a solo road trip
6. Cook dinner for me and five friends
7. See a game of sport, a concert, a comedy show, a musical and a theatre production
8. Paint a self-portrait
9. Learn a song on piano (or any instrument that's not guitar)
10. Read 12 important books
11. Create a 10-minute arthouse film
12. Do a 365 Photo Challenge
13. Ride the Indian Pacific
14. Do City 2 Surf and the Perth Freeway Bike Hike
15. Spend a month following a type of meditation
16. Write a NaNoWriMo novel
17. Get a tailor-made suit
18. Get kissed on a beach at night
19. *Hidden goal*
20. Begin learning Sign Language
21. Spend New Year's Eve at Times Square, New York
I've edited #12: 'Create a photo album that represents my life' to become 'Do a 365 Photo Challenge'. This is basically taking a photo a day for an entire year. It kind of fits in with the chronicling thing and I have a feeling it would have been too easy to remove photos from my mum's photo album and stick them in mine. I'll post them online, most likely take them with my iPhone (recently got an iPhone 4, which has much better camera quality than my old 3GS).
Number 17 is to get a tailor-made suit. A certain someone told me I looked good in a suit (and converse :P) and I think it'd be nice to own a suit specifically designed for - and by - me.
And finally, 18 is to get kissed on a beach at night. This isn't 'technically' something I can make happen - but two people can. And in a way, it's all up to chance, so we'll see how this one works out.
And that makes the list full. Like I've made edits already, I may make a few before 2010 ends, but this is going to be pretty much it. 365 days, 21 goals, one me.
Funnily enough, I'm struggling to fill out the last four goals, although I have lowered it to two:
1. Record a five song EP
2. Get my motorcycle license
3. Donate blood
4. Busk for a day
5. Take a solo road trip
6. Cook dinner for me and five friends
7. See a game of sport, a concert, a comedy show, a musical and a theatre production
8. Paint a self-portrait
9. Learn a song on piano (or any instrument that's not guitar)
10. Read 12 important books
11. Create a 10-minute arthouse film
12. Create a photo album that represents my life
13. Ride the Indian Pacific
14. Do City 2 Surf and the Perth Freeway Bike Hike
15. Spend a month following a type of meditation
16. Write a NaNoWriMo novel
17.
18.
19. *Hidden Goal*
20. Begin learning Sign Language
21. Spend New Year's Eve at Times Square, New York
I changed #14: 'Run a marathon' to 'Do City 2 Surf and the Perth Freeway Bike Hike' in order to cover charities and marathons in one go. I also wanted to do the Million Paws Walk for the RSPCA but unfortunately I don't have a dog... boo.
That said, number 20 on the list is actually quite a big one. I've always wanted to learn another language and I think sign language is something different - not to mention helpful. It's not a defined goal as such, there's no 'ending' to it, but I want to at least make a start and commit to learning it for good.
Number 19 is a hidden goal because it's something quite personal that I'll only reveal if it is achieved. This isn't to save myself from embarassment of failing - to be honest, I'm wondering if failing one of the goals I've set might be a good thing - but rather because it's not something I can reveal without ruining it.
These last two are really killing me. HELP ALREADY.
I'm posting this video in order to test Blogger's YouTube capabilities - I bought a Bloggie camera the other day so I'll be uploading all my videos onto YouTube. This is a silly thing I made with a friend a year and a half ago - but awesome.
I'm cool, I swear.
Please give me suggestions for these last two goals or I'll go insane before the end of the year! Follow/subscribe/thankyou for doing so already.
Welcome back! Sorry for the long delay in posts - unfortunately, the waiting around for 2011 to get here is not something I have control over. But I have spent it investigating some items worthy of being on my list, and in doing so have now added five new goals to my list, which now looks like this:
1. Record a five song EP
2. Get my motorcycle license
3. Donate blood
4. Busk for a day
5. Take a solo road trip
6. Cook dinner for me and five friends
7. See a game of sport, a concert, a comedy show, a musical and a theatre production
8. Paint a self-portrait
9. Learn a song on piano (or any instrument that's not guitar)
10. Read 12 important books
11. Create a 10-minute arthouse film
12. Create a photo album that represents my life
13. Ride the Indian Pacific
14. Run a marathon
15. Spend a month following a type of meditation
16. Write a NaNoWriMo novel
17.
18.
19.
20.
21. Spend New Year's Eve at Times Square, New York
Some pretty big items now on this list! The Indian Pacific is something my family has always wanted to do, but I'm poaching it and am going to do it first. I'm most likely going to cross this item off around April, when I have to go to Sydney for a concert I'm seeing. Thankfully I have an income which will allow me to do this, so I'm stoked at the idea of heading across the Nullabor on the train.
In scanning lots of 'Bucket Lists', the idea of running a marathon seems to be pretty popular. I'm not exactly unfit, and am becoming less so as football practice goes by every week, but I think it's something that shows character, endurance and perseverance. I participated in Relay for Life this year, which is the closest I've come, but I want to actually participate in a marathon as a solo runner.
The meditation one came across as a really interesting idea. I'm a practicing Christian, but I won't be doing biblical meditation to fill this one out. I haven't looked at any particular practice yet but there's loads out there. I should also point out that by 'a month of meditation', I don't mean meditating non-stop for a month. One can only handle so much enlightenment at a time :P But I will be following a particular practice for an entire month and I think it'll be really invigorating.
Number 16 - Write a NaNoWriMo novel - is something I've actually done in the past. I was a WriMo winner in 2008, achieving the 50,000 words required to become a winner in just under the 30-day limit. But since then I've tried it twice and have failed both times, mostly due to a lack of motivation. I would have had ample time to complete them both. But not to worry, by adding it to the list I'm preparing to write a hopefully more mature novel than my somewhat juvenile attempt from '08.
There are a few empty spots before my final goal: Spend New Year's Eve in Times Square, New York. I'm very grateful for the vlessing that is my father working for Qantas, so flying is somewhat cheaper for me than for other people. That said, it's still not cheap to fly to America and back. Nevertheless, I think there's a great opportunity here: to finish off my list in grandiose and memorable fashion. Will I be alone? In spirit, yes, but not in person. Working up to this as the final goal is really exciting. Also, note that it says New Year's Eve, not spend the New Year - so I will have completed my last goal by 11:59, December 31!
With all that said, there are still four empty spots remaining on my list. One of these is going to be devoted to something charity-related, so please suggest away for that and for the remaining three spots as well. For number 10, I've lowered the number of books to 12, seeing as reading time is spare for me during university. One a month is something I can handle. The other change is that a daily video blog is something that may compromise the possible success of the blog - I'm worried that many of these will be pointless and meandering. In order to remedy this, I've decided to lower the number of video blogs to a bi-weekly format; hopefully one on a Saturday morning to cover the weekdays and one on Monday morning to cover the weekend.
As usual, I really want to expand the membership and follower numbers of this blog, so if you haven't already, please click the 'follow' button to the right of this post. Also, please comment on the posts and suggest ideas - if you've already suggested them and I haven't taken them, re-suggest the ones you think would be most benficial.
Thanks everyone! Hope your lead-up to Christmas is going well!
Hey hey everybody! Back with another update to the blog with seven - yes, count'em SEVEN new goals to add to my list! Here's the updated article:
1. Record a five song EP
2. Get my motorcycle license
3. Donate blood
4. Busk for a day
5. Take a solo road trip
6. Cook dinner for me and five friends
7. See a game of sport, a concert, a comedy show, a musical and a theatre production
8. Paint a self-portrait
9. Learn a song on piano (or any instrument that's not guitar)
10. Read 25 important books
11. Create a 10-minute arthouse film
12. Create a photo album that represents my life
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
A lot of these goals scare me. But I guess that's kind of the point - it's fear that prevents us from doing things which might change our lives. And fear won't stop me this time. I'm even a little afraid of little things like whether or not I'll be able to get a video done every day of the year - it's a big ask. But I'm determined not to let the many times things like this in the past have failed affect me. I AM going to do this.
I do need a little help - while I have some idea of which books I want to read, I'd like some suggestions from you guys on books you think are important in our history. Suggestions are more than welcome! Also, if anyone has something for me to add to number 7 (see a sports game, a concert, a theatrical production, a musical and a comedy), please tell me so I can add it!
If you haven't already, please click the 'follow' link to the right of this post and become a follower of this blog, I'd like to spread the word and have as many people as possible following my journey! If you have, thankyou so much :)
Hey all! I'm really excited that so many of you have responded to my posts on Facebook and been willing to comment and suggest, but please keep thinking of ideas! There's 21 spots and it's surprisingly a lot more than I thought.
The main reason for this post is that I've updated the list with a few more items:
1. Record a five song EP
2. Get my motorcycle license
3. Donate blood
4. Busk for a day
5. Take a solo road trip
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
I've always wanted to get my motorcycle licence, and this is a good way to do it, I think. I really liked Bradley's idea of donating blood, so I've taken that onboard. Busking is something I'd be terrified of so I put that up there too! Road trip I put up there because I've driven across the nullabor before, but never on my own, so I may do that or even go up north or something.
I should also ask people if they have owned or currently own a blogging style camera. I'm getting one for Christmas, and I'll be getting hold of an HD handheld video camera of some sort, but there's a lot out there and I thought it might be worth asking if anyone knows of anything good.
Keep suggesting and commenting! Also, if you haven't already, please become a follower of the blog by clicking the 'follow' button on the right hand side of the page!
November 1. Two months until the beginning of Project: Me Vs. Mediocrity.
If you don't know me, my name is Adam Heap. I'm a 20 year old arts student living in Western Australia. I'm passionate about English football, love, and writing (short stories and songs). Three words to describe me would be outgoing, fun, and creative.
I'm afraid of a number of things. Small bugs scare me easily - even things like moths. Crickets, too, those things jump far too high and fast for my liking. Snakes, too. Actually, just deadly animals in general (and moths and crickets). But something that scares me far more than bugs or rampaging octopii is mediocrity.
There is nothing worse in my mind than the possibility I might never really accomplish anything. Do I have dreams like any other young adult? Of course I do. I'll detail them in a future post, because this isn't the time and place for them, but I have ambitions of doing great things. Those things, however, are to come later in life, and I want to accomplish some great things now. And that fear has motivated me to do this - Me Vs. Mediocrity.
Basically, the idea is simply to have a list of 21 things that I aim to achieve in 2011, beginning on 00:00 January 1st and finishing at 23:59 December 31st. I haven't yet decided on what those 21 things are, so that's the aim of the next two months. I'm going to set some for myself, but I want my friends and family involved as well, forcing me to achieve all 21 of them.
To record these achievements, I'm going to be doing a video diary EVERY DAY of 2011. That's 365 videos. 21 of those will be specially devoted to the days on which I achieve those goals, but the remainder will be a chronicle of what I intend to be an awesome year as I prepare for the goal days, discuss the general, boring issues of my day and discover more about myself.
To my friends and family and anyone who just happens to stumble across this blog - it would really mean a lot to me if you followed it, commented on it, assisted me in any way possible. I want people to actually be witnesses to the fact that I achieved these things, to be involved in my journey, because on my own it might get boring.
But to begin with, I need goals. Things to achieve. I'll update this fairly regularly from now until Jan 1, where there'll be a post every day. But right now, I'm hunting for some things to do. And I want the people reading this to suggest some of these things. So please, comment, suggest, provide me with inspiration. I may not do everything, depending on its feasibility, but I want 21 goals that will take effort and yield satisfaction afterwards.
So without further ado, here is the list so far, complete with the first and (so far) only addition:
1. Record a five song EP
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
