The past few years of my life have been all work and no play. Ok there was a little play sprinkled in there, but mostly work. It makes me sad to look back and realize I’ve been too “busy” to make time for fun. I want this year to be different. I want to reflect back on 2014 and see that yes, I was very successful, and also had a hell of a lot of fun.

So at the beginning of this year a girlfriend and I made a decision that 2014 would be our year of adventure and fun. Our year to make epic memories! And so far, it’s off to a great start.

When I was taking time to set my goals for the beginning of the year I decided to make play goals as well to keep myself accountable. I decided that every month I have to have a fun girls night out planned, go to the movies, go shopping with mom, get to the beach, eat at a new restaurant, and participate in some type of new or different activity. I figured with all these fun activities planned throughout the month I am bound to have a more playful year.

One of my favorite play goals so far has been participating in some type of new activity every month. In January I ran a marathon, which is a pretty intense activity to say the least! But I also went with some girlfriends to a trampoline park, which was a ridiculous amount of fun! And this month I gave myself a bit of a challenge. I picked an activity that was way out of my comfort zone….professional dancing.

I don’t dance, in public that is. I don’t know how to dance. I never took a dance lesson growing up. With the exception of dancing around my apartment by myself, I don’t dance. You get the picture.

So dancing in a public setting with a bunch of professional dancers is my worst nightmare, or so I thought.

When I arrived at the dance studio Saturday night I immediately started to sweat. I came with my girlfriend who has been taking dance lessons (part of her own adventurous year plan) and she assured me that it would be a good time. But as I saw all the couples out on the dance floor I couldn’t help but feel intimidated and completely out of place. I wasn’t there for very long though before I was dragged up on the dance floor. And something crazy happened, I had the best time! I didn’t know what I was doing and probably looked ridiculous, but I was learning. I was also smiling from ear to ear the entire time. I left there on a dance high, and cannot wait to do it again! In fact, I can’t believe I am writing this, but I am actually going to start taking lessons.

My year of fun is growing as I keep adding to my bucket list of playful activities I get to look forward to. Ice skating, horseback riding, a 5k color run, trapeze lessons, and maybe even a boudoir photo shoot (oh la la). My main goal with all these activities is to have fun and spice up my life. But they also come with the added benefit of pushing me out of my comfort zone and causing me to grow. After conquering one of my biggest fears by getting out on the dance floor I feel unstoppable this week! It’s given me the confidence to pursue other goals in my life that scare me a bit. WIth all these new fun experiences I’ll be having this year I figure I’ll be growing leaps and bounds in the coming months!

My hope is that this blog will inspire you to fit in more play time in your own life. Life should be fun, and it can be as fun as you make it. Make time to laugh, play, travel, and explore. I know you’re busy, but that’s why you have to make having fun a priority. Schedule it if you have to! Don’t keep putting off all the things that you’ve wanted to do or experience for another day. I hate to be barer of bad news, but life is short and unpredictable. None of us know how long we get to hang around here for. So make it your mission to fill your life with as many fun and exciting memories as you can. In the end no one regrets that they didn’t spend more time at the office.