30 B4 30 Day 26: Send a Message in a Bottle

People have been sending messages in bottles since before the book by Nicholas Sparks and the disappointing movie that followed. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest message in a bottle spent more than 92 years at sea. As my item for today, I decided to Send a Message in a Bottle to follow in the footsteps of other curious people throughout history.

I had TK bring me home an empty bottle with the labels removed and I wrote a letter to roll up and put into the bottle. This is what the dated message said:

Well, hello! I bet you didn’t think you would find a bottle with a message in it on your trip to the ocean today, but I knew you would or at least someone would eventually.

I will be celebrating my 30^th birthday this year and in the 30 days before my 30^th birthday I have decided to do 30 things I have never done, and sending a message in a bottle was one of them. I call it my 30 B4 30 project and now you are part of it. Sorry…or you’re welcome, depending on how interested you are in reading this message.

Fortunately for me, I’ve made it to my 30^th birthday. Some people do not and I do not take my age for granted. In 30 years I have been on many adventures, so I wanted to send this bottle on its own adventure to go wherever it may. I believe that life is too short to not enjoy it however much you can. If there is something you are a little apprehensive about because you are afraid, weigh out the pros and cons and make a decision. Whether it is to jump in feet first or say no and turn away, being decisive is what’s important. “I don’t know,” is an incredibly damaging statement, especially if it isn’t followed by, “but I can find out,” because it provokes inactivity and laziness in your own life. There are many people in the world that are too wishy-washy in their decision making and aren’t active participants in their own lives. Please don’t be that person. I am not a self-help guru but I do think that people owe it to themselves to take the reigns on their life and be the person they want to be. So, be that person because you are the only one stuck with you for the rest of your life.

Enjoy,

30 B4 30

So yes, I made an obnoxious, vain statement to a complete stranger. I just thought that the message in the bottle should be empowering so that the person who bears witness to this little project I have started can actually get something out of it. I am not trying to change anyone's life, I am just trying to make him or her feel a little better about him- or herself, if there is a need for some uplifting. There is no harm in brightening someone's day or helping them find their smile.

Tomorrow I will take this bottle to the ocean and toss it in so it can begin its aquatic journey. I just hope I don't break it or throw it too close to the coast. Photos of this act to follow...

UPDATE: While cruising back from Grand Turk on the Carnival Miracle, I tossed the bottle off the Lido Deck into the Atlantic Ocean. So, right now, I think the bottle is floating somewhere between Florida and New Jersey.