Once in a while, we do something that marks a “before” and “after.” This list, for me, was one of those things. The defeated, desperate, broken person I was at the beginning is far from the determined, risk-taking, brave person who I became by number 50. Completing the list was scary, recording...

So much of my life has been spent worrying about what other people think. I stressed over what people would think of how I was dressed, my hair, my makeup, my weight, my shoes, whether the colors I was wearing suited my complexion. I made myself as invisible as possible. Stepping out and doing my...