Your twenties and thirties are two of the most important decades of your life. You determine what you want to do professionally, determine what you believe spiritually, and establish yourself as an adult in real life. But don’t let your young adulthood go by without making an under 40 list – a list of things to do before you reach the big 4-0.

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This article is part of our Quarterlife series, produced in partnership with Unite Health Share Ministries.

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Here are 20 things to accomplish before your 40th birthday:

Read the entire Bible cover to cover

Reading the Bible from front to back might seem like a daunting task, but with grade-grade Bible reading resources like the YouVersion app, it’s a manageable goal. Even if you’ve read most of the scriptures in your life, reading it as a linear story, one book at a time, gives you a new perspective on gospel history.

See your favorite band live at least once

Someday you’ll want to tell your kids, friends or family about the time you drove all night to see U2 play a stadium in Chicago, found tickets to a sold-out Sufjan Stevens show at a small venue in your hometown. or saw Sigur Ros under the stars in an amphitheater. Concert tickets can be expensive, but it’s worth seeing a large group in concert.

Running a marathon (or some kind of endurance race)

Regardless of your current fitness level, there are plenty of options for you to participate in an endurance race. Whether it’s a 5k, Tough Mudder, or full marathon, choose a distance that you will actually need to train for a few months. Part of the joy of accomplishment is looking back on all the hard work you’ve put in.

Watch all AFI Top 100 movies

In 1998, the American Film Institute surveyed 1,500 leaders of the film community and asked them to help put together the 100 best American films ever made. The list (which was updated in 2007) contains movies that you have probably seen before (like Rocky, Forest gump, Star wars and Jaws) but these are the deeper cuts (like Back window, stagecoach, duck soup and In the west, nothing is new) showcasing the evolution of American cinema and pop culture, which makes the task of watching every movie such a rich experience.

Choose a country and go visit

Before you turn 40, pick at least one country you’ve always wanted to visit and make it happen. Create a plan to save some cash and store vacation time to go to the place you’ve always wanted to see.

Speak a second language

If you choose a country to visit, why not try to learn the language spoken there as well?

Write letters to the five people who have marked your life the most

Don’t make the mistake of not telling the important people in your life how much they touched you. Even though the letters are short, sometime before you turn 40, think about the five people who helped shape you as an adult and tell them what they meant to you.

Watch every season of some great TV shows

We live in a golden age of television, in which the critically acclaimed shows are the new great American novels. Pick a few of the shows that will be remembered for making serialized TV important again and watch them in their entirety. Marathon through a series like Development stopped, The walking dead, Thread or breaking Bad, and see how the medium of television has been reinvented in your generation.

Give something really expensive

Before you turn 40, you need to know what it feels like to give something expensive. Maybe you pool some money with a few friends to buy a car for a single mom in need. Maybe it’s plane tickets for a friend who’s going on a mission. This might be a bunch of really nice Christmas gifts for kids who wouldn’t have one otherwise. At some point in your 20s or 30s, make it your personal goal to save enough money to give someone else something extraordinary.

Make amends with the “ enemies ”

Once you hit your late twenties, you’re officially too old to harbor any bitterness towards anyone else. Before you turn 40, make an effort to make amends with anyone in your life that you feel uncomfortable with. As Christians, there is no excuse not to forgive, especially in adulthood.

Apply for the job of your dreams

Don’t look back on later in life regretfully, wondering what could have been. Even if you don’t think you qualify for the job you’ve always dreamed of, in your 20s or 30s, apply for the job you’ve always wanted. It may not lead to a career choice in drama, but unless you give it a chance, you’ll never know.

Take the stage. Alone

Preach a sermon. Try stand-up comedy. Give a TED-style talk. Find the opportunity to be alone on a stage in front of a crowd with nothing to move them but a microphone and your own thoughts. Public speaking can be terrifying, but it can also be exhilarating.

Go on a road trip of at least a thousand miles

There is something philosophical that happens when you are on the road for over 15 hours, exploring America through freeways and highways. Just look at the work of Jack Kerouac and you will see that the journey is not about the destination, but the road trip.

Write a short story

Everyone has a good story in them. Take the time to write at least one good short story sometime in your twenties or thirties. You never have to post it or even share it with anyone, but it’s a self-analysis exercise that everyone should do at least once.

Going on a mission / humanitarian aid trip

Of course, “short-term missionary trips” have sometimes been criticized for offering short-term solutions to long-term needs, but if you find the right destination and the right cause, it can be life changing. But remember, the point of a trip is not to teach others what you know – it’s also to allow them to teach you from what they have been through.

Learn to play an instrument

Take that old guitar sitting in the attic, grab a harmonic, or buy the drums you’ve always dreamed of. Who knows? Maybe you even have a hidden talent just begging to be discovered.

Find a mentor and mentee

You are never too old to learn from someone older than you and to teach someone younger.

Memorize the Our Father, the Apostles’ Creed, the Great Commission and the Beatitudes

By memorizing these relatively short elements, you will be able to recite four key tenets of the Christian faith: how to pray (the Our Father), your calling (the Great Commission), the teachings of the gospel (the Creed of the Apostles), and how to live (the Beatitudes).

Face your fears

Whether it’s public speaking, an aversion to water, fear of rejection, or an aversion to stealing, you don’t have to totally conquer your fears in your 20s or 30s, but you have to face it. Sign up for swimming lessons, go to Toast Masters, or even ask for advice. Taking steps to control your fear as an adult will ensure that it doesn’t have to control you.

Sponsor a child

There are a ton of organizations (World Vision, Compassion International, ChildFund International) that will let you sponsor a child in need for less than your cell phone bill. Some time before your 40th birthday, commit to a year – the letters you receive alone are worth it.