

Ask HN: What are some new things to try in life? - brandonhsiao

I&#x27;m eighteen and looking for new challenges. What are some new things in life to try?<p>Examples of things I have decided to try:<p>- playing the piano<p>- drawing<p>- Krav Maga
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jasonkester
Travel.

If you're just coming off of high school, it's socially acceptable to delay
starting University by a semester or two to go backpack around the world for a
while. If you can scrape together a few grand to do so, definitely jump on the
chance.

Fly one-way to Bangkok, get a room on Ko San road, then walk downstairs and
grab a beer in the bar. Talk to people, ask where they've been and where
they're going. Ten minutes of this will probably be enough to load you up with
6 months worth of amazing things to do in SE Asia.

It's cheap there. It's easy to get around. The locals are friendly and speak
English. You'll rock it.

Fly out, say, tomorrow afternoon (or the day after you graduate, if you
haven't yet done so). Stay as long as the money holds out. Use your last $600
to buy a one-way flight home from wherever you happen to have ended up.

You'll come back never having to ask strangers for a list of new thing to try
again.

Good luck!

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jthurman
The things you've listed are all "skills." Learning new skills is great, and
you should do it for the rest of your life.

Don't limit your 'trying things' to just new skills, however. Consider new
experiences you'd like to have. Others have mentioned travel, skydiving,
etc... Those experiences are what make the memories that last a lifetime, long
after you're past the novelty of being able to plunk out tunes on the piano.
Here are a few suggestions:

* Go eat at a Michelin 3-star restaurant, even if it the price seems crazy.

* Next time the Mormons or Jehova's Witnesses knock on the door, invite them in and listen to what they have to say.

* Go to a concert, especially one that's outside your "norm" (Been to a few rock concerts? Go to the symphony. Or vice-versa).

* Volunteer at a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, or some other place where you'll work hard for nothing more than feeling good about contributing to society.

That said, when you do tackle the skill stuff, I highly recommend Josh
Kaufmann's book "The first 20 hours" ([http://www.amazon.com/The-
First-20-Hours-Anything/dp/1591845...](http://www.amazon.com/The-
First-20-Hours-Anything/dp/1591845556)). In which he teaches how to become
"not a beginner" at something fairly quickly.

Good luck!

~~~
brandonhsiao
I'm checking out the book and it looks great! Going to try it out with
something.

Other than that, good suggestions.

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Red_Tarsius
A few things come to mind:

\- learn to cook properly so that in adulthood you won't rely on junk or
premade meals;

\- volunteer in your local community;

\- write a short story (up to ~1000 words) every day for the next month;

\- start a sketch book and doodle ~1 page every day for the next month;

\- join an online course (
[https://www.coursera.org/](https://www.coursera.org/) ) or teach yourself a
new skill ( [http://ocw.mit.edu](http://ocw.mit.edu) );

\- learn a prototyping tool or a programming language and join a videogame jam
([http://compohub.net/](http://compohub.net/))!

Whatever challenge you take on, be sure to have a clear goal in mind, so that
you won't just do random things. A goal will let you see how far you've
progressed, have a feedback and be more motivated. At the same time, don't be
a slave to your self-imposed goal. It's a tool to frame your actions and make
them meaningful; don't beat up yourself if you don't achieve it, enjoy the
ride!

------
a3n
\- Skydiving.

\- Fourteeners. Some are easy, some are hard.

\- Get a dog, build a relationship with it. They're both family members
(should be, from your POV) and pack members from their POV. You need to train
your dog, get professional advice; violence is _not_ part of legitimate
training (see family member above).

------
Artagra
Not all of these would classify as "new challenges", but overall they will
expand your perspective and expose you to interesting new ideas.

\- Taking long walks (5km +) in your neighbourhood can give you a new
perspective on your surroundings

\- Snow Skiing or Diving - expensive, but both worth it if you haven't tried
them

\- Volunteering at a local organisation

\- A part-time job that's _way_ out of your normal focus. I've worked part
time as a real-estate agent, photographer, IT technician, and learnt a lot
about life doing so.

\- Do some online / self study in a literature, psychology, philosophy or
politics.

------
vmsmith
Things to try?

Read the story of a man named John Goddard, sometimes known as "The Man with
the List."

Check it out:
[http://www.johngoddard.info/bio.htm](http://www.johngoddard.info/bio.htm)

I came across his story when I was a few years younger than you -- I'm 61 now
-- and it has inspired and guided my entire life. Read his story; read his
list. The two of them ought to provide you with enough ideas for a lifetime.

Here's his list:
[http://www.johngoddard.info/life_list.htm](http://www.johngoddard.info/life_list.htm)

------
onion2k
Help someone without expecting anything in return.

I rather hope that's not new to you, but it is for a lot people...

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Al__Dante
Walk from Whitechapel to Portobello Road via Harrods

Learn 10 Chinese or Japanese characters

Learn 10 phrases in Hindi, Indonesian, Russian and Spanish

Visit a refugee camp

Go to Botswana

Build something with a Raspberry Pi

Cook scrambled eggs sous vide

~~~
grayarea
> Walk from Whitechapel to Portobello Road via Harrods

At this time of year? Can I wait until spring?

------
ddorian43
I would substitute Krav Maga with kickboxing/muay thai/mma since you can't
practice it and it's not a sport.

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kfk
Travelling by kayak or bike for 800-1500km will give you a new perspective on
things. I did about 750km when I was 17 and it changed my life. You can check
out my article on my kayak trip this year in Poland to get an idea.

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japhyr
Travel to the end of a road. If you're starting in CA:

\- Travel all the way to the east coast, using no interstates.

\- Head north until you reach Alaska.

\- Head south until you reach Tierra del Fuego.

~~~
AnimalMuppet
I don't think you can go all the way to Tierra del Fuego by road. If I recall
correctly, somewhere in Central America, it's broken. Also, some places is
quite dangerous.

At least research it before you try...

~~~
japhyr
That's absolutely true. It's the Darien Gap, and you basically take a boat
around the gap, from Panama into Colombia I believe. But the point is, pick a
destination at the end of the road, and get there by traveling over the land/
sea; no airplanes, and no interstates. It's not about the destination, it's
about all the experiences that aiming for the destination brings you to.

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RollAHardSix
Forget Krav Maga, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

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jdimov
Girls

~~~
AnimalMuppet
You mean, like, sex? Or do you mean actually understanding them?

Those two are not equivalent...

