I recently turned 20 and it got me to reflecting on the first 20 years of my life, as well as what's ahead. Many people tell me that your 20s are a mixture of excitement, adventure, and struggle as you grapple with the expectations of adulthood for the first time. As I think about what I want to accomplish during these years of my life, here are a few of the items on my bucket list.

• 1. Read more books. I want to go back and read all those books from high school that I should have read at the time. I'm talking about the classics that your parents read and the ones that people quote during conversations, but you have no idea what they're talking about. As a kid, I was a pretty avid reader, but somewhere in between, I sort of stopped for whatever the reason. I recently re-watched Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, which made me want to go back and read the books.

• 2. I want to travel. I've heard people say before that when you are young, you have your health but no money, and when you are old, you have the money, but no longer the health. I don't necessarily think this has to be the case, because I believe you can adventure to your heart's desire without either one of these things. Traveling isn't for the young or the old, but the explorer and adventurer at heart. Age doesn't have to restrict you, nor does money. Also, traveling is not defined as only those exotic, Instagram-certified places. Don't quantify your experiences through money and the likes it may get you on social media, rather live vicariously through them!

• 3. I want to take more risks. So far up to this point, everything has been so calculated in my life. I think of it as a game of chess where everything has been carefully scrutinized and meticulously planned. All the percentages have been measured, and all the moves have been thought out. As kids, I think we are insulated to a certain extent from our failures, our shortcomings, and the risk of the unknown. Through the guidance of our parents in every new situation to the participation trophies handed to us in recreational sports and competitions, we are kept away from certain hardships and life lessons of reality. Don't get me wrong, I don't think this is a bad thing, and I certainly don't mind participation trophies (I still have a lot of them I got as a kid). However, there is also a time when I think one needs to stop playing chess and embrace the things we don't know, as well as our weaknesses. That is when we can truly start enjoying the learning curve our 20s can offer us in so many ways.

• 4. Quit the Comparison Game. I think everyone compares themselves to other people and standards. Yes, these people and standards may vary, but at the heart of it, we are always trying to give ourselves expectations. The teenage years can be challenging through metrics like GPA, colleges, financial situations, etc. Now that I've reached my twenties, I don't want to have to think about these things anymore. I think figuring out how to be an adult is hard enough without comparing ourselves to others based on how much money we make, how good of a person we are, or how far along we are in the Life department.

• 5. Keep Writing. Writing is one of those interesting things to me. Sometimes you love it, sometimes you hate it. Though it's usually the former for me, occasionally it can feel like a drag. Reflecting on my writing over the years though, I love to look back on what I written and see the personal growth conveyed through it, whether it be better writing skills or progressively less embarrassing work. Nevertheless, it is truly rewarding to see the progression in being a writer and this is something that I hope will continue.

• 6. See more theatre and drama productions. Many people don't know this about me, but I enjoy going to see plays and going to the theatre. I have always been impressed with the idea of putting on a production, whether it be the time put into making it happen, the abilities of the people in the production, or the grandeur of the theatre.

• 7. Take up a new hobby. I was recently reading an article about Jaylen Brown, a third-year guard for the Boston Celtics who does not fit the regular mold of the typical budding NBA star. Brown went to UC Berkeley, took graduate classes while juggling Division 1 basketball, and was captain of the chess team. Now in the NBA, he's headlined a convention at Harvard, organized technology seminars in between games, and remains 100 percent in on basketball. Asked how he manages it all, Brown said, "Everybody just spends their 24 hours different, and I just choose to use all of mine". Having read this quotable from Brown, I came away both inspired and embarrassed, because I realized how much time I waste on things that won't matter in the long-run. Here's aspiring to maximize the most valuable asset we have and choosing to take full advantage of it, in whatever capacity that may be!

• 8. Enjoy it all. The concept of time is very peculiar to me. I'm not trying to get all existential or anything, but it's hard to believe that I have two decades behind me already. When I think about all of this, it can feel a little overwhelming, because you realize both the fragility and beauty of life. Sometimes I have to tell myself to stop thinking about time so much because you genuinely don't know how much you have. I feel so often we tell ourselves we need to be at a certain point in our lives by a given age, or we need to do such and such before it's too late. We operate on a social clock ordained by our peers when we need to focus on what we individually want to accomplish. I have no idea exactly what will happen during these years of my life; however, if there is one thing that I would wish for myself, it would be that I would take the time to enjoy every day—savoring the good, the bad, and everything in between. And hopefully, it will pay dividends down the road.