Why I'm creating a 'Life Skills' bucket list
Originally published in February 2020
Now I'm in my mid-twenties, I have started having what can only be described as a quarter-life crisis. Not employing destructive and reckless behaviors, as some may imagine; but trying to battle an impending sense of helplessness at general life tasks. Here’s a (tragic) example. Only just a few days ago did I change my first lightbulb. I did not, contrary to previous thought, have to shut down the power in the whole house to do so. It was truly eye opening; a small sense of accomplishment.
Now before you judge, I believe myself to be an individual with many different skills – I have been cooking, cleaning and ironing my own clothes since the age of 14 (I had to teach my fellow university housemates how to operate the washing machine and to prepare a dish that wasn’t chicken nuggets and chips). However, I am severely lacking in tasks that one might need to run a house or look after a car.
I have recently employed my own grandmother to give me knitting lessons (scarf due for completion January 2021) and I’ve decided I would also like to learn how to fill a car tire with air at a petrol station and be able to put up a shelf.
As I have mentioned in my previous post (subtle plug, love it), I am nowhere near owning my own property and living in London means that there’s often no point in me having a car. So the opportunity to put these skills to use may come few and far between; but I would like them in my arsenal. Just in case.
I'm not sure why it's taken me to hit 25 (also known as halfway to 50) to realise that there are some things in life that I should probably learn how to do, but I'm glad I'm doing it now. I do wish that throughout my education I had some sort of idea about the skills that might be required of me as an adult - money management, basic DIY and understanding stamp duty (I still don't); but it's now up to me to take my life learning into my own hands. Here's my life skills bucket list:
Knitting
Changing lightbulbs (normal light DONE, now onto a spotlight)
Make a piece of clothing using a sewing machine good enough to rival Maison Valentino
Paint without getting drip marks down the wall
Put up a shelf
Change a car tire
Bleed a radiator (I will feel incredibly accomplished when I complete this one)
