
27 Before 27
Before starting this article, I hope it motivates you, even if just a little. Honestly, I’m also one of those who get easily motivated. Thanks to a bucket list I came across on a blog called “Hayallerimde Ben” written by a friend named Ebru, and also because of the movie “Bucket List” I watched just a day ago, I told myself that this world is short and leaving it without doing something meaningful is not an option. Let me also point out that the spiritual side of this matter is a completely separate topic. So don’t think of it as purely a worldly thing—you can live it both in a worldly and an afterlife-oriented way 🙂 First of all, if you haven’t already watched the movie “The Bucket List” (translated as “Şimdi Ya da Asla” in Turkish), you should. You’ll understand what I mean. Now, let’s quickly move on to our list.
✅ 15/27
#1 Interrail Trip ✔️
This item has quite an interesting story behind it. First, we won Interrail tickets from Taç, and later Pegasus Airlines stepped in as a sponsor for our flight tickets, which completely changed everything. As a result, we managed to complete a 12-day Interrail journey. We visited 4 countries in total: Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Of course, to watch our Interrail series, let me take you here.
[Age 23] – {July 1, 2017}
#2 Graduate ✔️
I had started to wonder if this item would be completed before turning 27. And yes, it really did. As of February 2020, I am officially a graduate.
[Age 26] – {February 2, 2020}
#3 Camping Trails ✔️
This item was marked mission completed after a 3-day camping adventure with a crazy team made up of fellow travelers Enes, Yasin, and Burak—something we had wanted to do for a long time. You can watch the video of this journey here.
[Age 21] – {July 20, 2015}
#4 Diving with Fish ❌
#5 Snowboard Time ✔️
Honestly, I didn’t expect this to be so exhausting and painful. But in the end, it turned out to be a great experience. I managed to complete the course with just one or two falls, and with the board too, I think I still handled it pretty well.
[Age 26] – {February 27, 2020}
#6 Adobe Photoshop Sertifikası Al ❌
#7 Buy an Anime Book from Japan ✔️
Unfortunately, I couldn’t accomplish this before the age of 27, but at the age of 31—in 2025, between January 30 and 31—I finally made this 15-day journey and returned from Japan very happy. In total, I ended up buying 10 anime books (manga), sticking to the way I had written it before. I collected the first volumes of 10 different mangas from the anime series I had watched.
[Age 31] – {Feb 8, 2025}
#8 Get a Driver’s License ✔️
We can now say that I’m able to drive. The only thing left is to get a car. Hopefully, that will happen too.
[Age 25] – {May 30, 2019}
#9 Cappadocia and Hot Air Balloon ❌
Unfortunately, I couldn’t accomplish this before the age of 27.
#10 Bungee Jumping ✔️
Even though I couldn’t complete it before turning 27, I managed to go bungee jumping in one of the most beautiful places possible—Penida Island, right next to Bali in Indonesia. I also shared a video about this on Instagram. You can check it out there.
[Age 31] – {July 9, 2025}
#11 Paragliding ❌
Unfortunately, I couldn’t accomplish this before the age of 27.
#12 The Holy Lands ❌
Unfortunately, I couldn’t accomplish this before the age of 27.
#13 Start Vlogging (Video Blog) ✔️
Yes, I finally started vlogging. Actually, there were a few videos before this, but I can say this one was the most original. That’s why I’m counting this video as the one that completes this item. You can watch the related video here.
[Age 22] – {October 10, 2015}
#14 New University with Erasmus ❌
Unfortunately, I couldn’t accomplish this before the age of 27.
#15 Cliff Photo in Norway ❌
Unfortunately, I couldn’t accomplish this before the age of 27.
#16 Silicon Valley ✔️
The item I thought I would complete last actually ended up being one of the first. Hopefully, the same will happen for the others too. I shared 12 videos on YouTube—feel free to check them out.
[Age 22] – {February 27, 2016}
#17 Travel on a Cruise Ship ❌
Unfortunately, I couldn’t accomplish this before the age of 27.
#18 Reach Over 100,000 Subscribers on YouTube ❌
Unfortunately, I couldn’t accomplish this before the age of 27.
#19 Start Postcrossing ✔️
I finally managed to start Postcrossing after a long wait. After quite some time, I sent out my very first postcards.
[Age 22] – {February 27, 2016}
#20 Earn 1,000 Appreciations on Behance ✔️
Not long after joining Behance—before I had even uploaded that many projects—I surpassed my first 1,000 appreciations 🙂 You can check out my Behance work through this link.
[Age 24] – {December 23, 2017}
#21 Delete This Item When I Can Say “I Did Something Huge” (Bonus Item) ❌
Unfortunately, I couldn’t accomplish this before the age of 27.
#22 Get a Job ✔️
When I started working at Microsoft as a long-term intern, this item was completed.
[Age 23] – {January 17, 2017}
#23 Attend a Pilot Training Course ❌
Unfortunately, I couldn’t accomplish this before the age of 27.
#24 Start a Collection ✔️
Now that I’ve completed this item, we can move on to the next one.
[Age 22] – {February 4, 2016}
#25 Learn to Play a Musical Instrument ❌
Unfortunately, I couldn’t accomplish this before the age of 27.
#26 Ride a Bicycle on the Islands ✔️
We also rode our bikes on the islands and checked this item off the list. Hopefully the same for the others.
[Age 22] – {May 1, 2016}
#27 World Tour ✔️
Even though I couldn’t complete it before turning 27, between May 9 and August 1 I went on a mini world tour covering Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, and Japan in a 12-week + 2-day program. You might say this doesn’t fully count as a world tour, but for me the limit was spending 12 weeks abroad in different countries. Before that, I had already had the chance to visit many other countries. With South Korea, the total number of countries I’ve visited reached 29. I believe I have the right to call this my World Tour. Even if not, I had made a promise and set myself a goal — and completing it is what matters most to me. You can find all my posts about my World Tour on my Instagram page.
[Age 31] – {August 1, 2025}
The End of 27 Before 27
It’s been 4.5 months since I published my last post. Now I’m back with a new one, and this one makes me feel like I’ve grown a little. I was 22 years old, I think, when I created a list called 27 Before 27—27 things to do before turning 27. And this past August 5th, I turned 27. That means we’ve come to the end of this list.
Out of the 27 items, I completed 12 + 1. So, looking back, that’s about half of them, which I think is a pretty good ratio. Of course, just because I turned 27 doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned the unfinished ones. I still plan to do them, but now I’m no longer tied to a strict timeline or list.
Still, having a goal list during that period was nice. I still have goals now, but compared to my early 20s, my perspective has shifted. I don’t feel the need to confine my dreams to a specific timeframe anymore. Whatever dream or goal I have will come true when its time comes. That could be tomorrow, a year from now, or even when I’m 35.
When you’re young, having such a list can also be good for you. Sometimes when I felt lazy, just picking one item and researching how to accomplish it taught me a lot. But I never treated these items as if they were 100% vital. And of course, beyond what’s written on this list, only God knows what else I’ve achieved. You can also think of the dreams in this list as just a small slice of all the dreams in my head.
In the end, the essence is this: have a dream. Have a goal you want to achieve. Because if you wander around without purpose…
Stay well. May Allah protect you!