emily@besottied.com

Once upon a time in 2009, my friend Laura and I decided that we felt a bit dull.

"We can't get old," we thought, "without being young and wild and crazy, first."

You see, despite what others may say, Laura and I are actually quite sensible. We did well at school, went to sixth form, Laura went to university and I started work, and now she's started working and I'm at university (as well as working, though: it's not exactly a partyfest).

A couple of years ago, the two of us went on a shopping trip to Newcastle the day after the world-famous Great North Run. Banners and signs left over from the event were still strung across the Tyne Bridge, and along the roads out of town. I was driving along, feeling rather content with my purchases, when Laura said "We should enter that, next year."

I wittily replied: "Ahahahahahaha!"

Worryingly, Laura was deadpan. "No, really, we should!"

I slowly came around to my friend's way of thinking. And that is how, in September that year, I found myself at the starting line of the Bupa Great North Run: a half marathon run by about 50,000 people each year. Getting a place is pure chance: it's done by ballot, so I was actually really lucky to get a place. Hmmm!

And so we decided, that 2009 would be a Year of Adventure: we would try new things and go to new places whenever we could, before we get too old and tied down to just throw overnight bags in the car and head off for a bit of excitement.

2011: The Year of Adventure - the sequel!

2010 was not a great year for me, overall. I split up from my boyfriend of 18 months, then found out I was getting made redundant in the new year. I was not a happy bunny. However, on New Year's Eve, I had a thought: 2011 would be my second Year of Adventure. This time I was single and so it would be easier to do exactly as I wanted.

So far this year I have learned to climb, bought a wetsuit so that I could spend longer periods of time in open water, barbecued for the first time (I normally let someone else do it for me), played polo, been hiking and cycling a lot more often, bought a tent... oh, and spent a month travelling around New Zealand. That turned out to be a life-chaging trip and I'm planning to emigrate there from the UK once I've finished my degree. I wasn't made redundant in March as I had been told I would be, but my future in my current job is less than certain so I'm doing as many different activities as I can while I'm still in a position to do so.

Funnily enough , in 2009 I wrote: "I'm tagging appropriate blog posts with 'Year of Adventure' so that, when we get to the end of the year, of even halfway through, Laura and I can look back at all the things we've got up to.

"That is, unless I'm killed bungee-jumping off a bridge, or skydiving, or swimming with sharks. Only time will tell!"

Weirdly, when in New Zealand earlier this year, I did bungy jump off a bridge, and I did skydive from 15,000 feet above Lake Taupo, but I definitely didn't swim with sharks. I'm not planning to do that this year, either!

If you really want a giggle, you can watch my bungy from the Kawarau Bridge, near Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island here: