P.E.I. woman shows why accomplishing little things can still mean a lot
Stephanie Knickle has some things she wants to do before she turns 50 — and they're not very glamorous
Jump off bridge. Check.
Lay on back as snake slithers over body. Check.
Eat cricket and Big Mac. Check and check.
Drive motorcycle. OK, so it was her nine-year-old nephew's mini-bike, but still. Check.
One by one, Stephanie Knickle is going through a list of things she wants to do before she turns 50 on Aug. 23. And she has to work fast.
"I had great plans to mark this milestone throughout the year and things happen, life happens and time passes quickly and I realized, Lord, it's August 1 and I really haven't accomplished anything in my head that I thought I would, so I made a decision to try something little or new, or something that I'm afraid of, just one little thing a day before I hit the 23rd."
I think the majority of us are just simply trying to get through the day and lead these not real exciting lives.— Stephanie Knickle
Not all the feats are exciting. It might be going to a movie alone — turns out people don't stare at you after all, she said — catching up with old friends, or just walking to work instead of driving.
"Some days I have no plan and it just hits me," said Knickle, a Charlottetown fitness instructor. "Some days would be a physical feat or something that I'm afraid of. Other days it might be a more internal approach, like I'm going to create peace with my past or something like that."
Her 2,300 Facebook friends have been following her adventures and providing inspiration. She said she's had lots of positive feedback, and it's a reminder that accomplishing even little things in life can be rewarding.
"I've had people say to me … 'I look forward to seeing what you're going to do tomorrow.' Or 'I look forward to these posts every day.' You know, great job. Keep it up. So the pressure's on."
Facing fears
Even though she's had a lifelong fear of snakes, the hardest things she's done so far is jump off Stanley Bridge.
"That one I had to take a couple deep breaths, wait a little longer than I wanted to," she said. "A couple of other mothers whose seven-year-old sons happened to be jumping ahead of me were saying come on lady, get your stuff together and get going. They actually inspired me to finally go through with it."
There are a few other things she wants to do before her big birthday, like skydive or maybe get another tattoo. But if it doesn't happen, she's happy to keep it simple.
"I think a lot of people out there really think that others are leading these exciting, kind of glamorous lives of, 'Oh I'm doing a lot of travelling' or 'I'm attempting a lot of these physical feats' or 'I'm running my first marathon' and stuff like that," she said.
"But in reality I think the majority of us are just simply trying to get through the day and lead these not real exciting lives and I guess I'm just wanting to share that little things, even just accomplishing a walk to work instead of taking your car, can mean a lot."
Inspire others. Check.