A woman said the key to fighting her depression was trying 365 new things in one year — including drinking a shot out of a belly button, signing up for a surf class, and visiting a leprechaun museum.
After suffering from depression and anxiety during the pandemic, Jess Mell, 34, said she’s the happiest she’s been in a decade after checking things off of her activity list. Some of her new challenges were more tame, like poaching an egg, and others a bit wilder — like flying a plane.
The UK insurance underwriter said she was initially inspired to try 100 new things in 100 days but was sad when the challenge ended in April. She decided to extend the challenge — which began Dec. 27 — for the rest of the year.
“I feel pretty emotional about it, to be honest. I can’t believe it,” Mell told South West News Service. “The first 100 I had to do one thing every day, but that was quite difficult so when I decided to continue for the rest of the year I decided I’d do 365 new things.”
Mell — whose list of firsts includes trying a Guinness and joining a local gardening community group — said she has no plans to stop trying new things.
She admitted she switched from trying something new every day to trying 365 new things in the span of a year, because “life kept getting in the way.”
“I was going to finish off by swimming in the sea, but I had not quite got to 365 yet, so that ended up being No. 363 or something,” she explained. “I still wanted to finish it off with something exciting though, so in the end, I finished up by convincing my dad to let me sit on the roof of his car as he drove down the road.”
However, that still only got her to 364, so she ended her challenge in a very fitting way — by making her first Instagram reel of her year of challenges. She documented her whole year of new activities on the app.
“I’m going to keep [trying new things] in that it’s now just part of what I do,” Mell declared. “I’ve always tried to find new things to do, so that will go on. Whether I track it the same way I’m not sure.”
Although she’s not sure what the new year holds, she’s got some ideas about what she can do in 2023 to challenge herself.
“I was originally thinking I’d visit every country in Europe, but I got talked out of it as I think it would become a bit of a tick-box exercise,” she shared. “I want a new challenge I think, I might try and climb 12 mountains in 12 months.”
“They don’t have to be proper mountains, it could just be one in the UK, but it’ll mean I can travel and it’ll be manageable — but I just feel a bit lost without my challenge,” Mell continued. “I feel like I should constantly be doing something.”
Mell’s list:
- Got Instagram
- Made a Christmas dinner
- Watched “E.T.”
- Made a lampshade
- Grew a plant from seed
- Did a backward roll
- Bled a radiator
- Tried origami
- Went to hot yoga
- Dyed my hair pink
- Bought the Big Issue
- Did 1,000 piece jigsaw by myself
- Tried a pot noodle
- Completed a Rubik’s cube
- Made muffins
- Visited an aircraft hangar – got to start a passenger plane
- Used the “scary” gym equipment
- Got a henna tattoo
- Watched “The Great Escape”
- Learned how to do various types of knots
- Learned to shuffle cards
- Visited the Skygarden
- Had a pedicure
- Went to a life drawing class
- Completed a paint by numbers
- Learned to pick a lock
- Completed the Crystal Maze
- Tried a barre class
- Made/ate a vegan meal
- Went on a Boris bike
- Hung a picture on the wall
- Tried first coffee
- Went to Bogan Bingo
- Learned to sew a button
- Learned some British Sign Language
- Went to a choir group
- Went to a board game club
- Went to a TRX class
- Learned to change indicator light bulbs in my car
- Tried a Guinness
- Joined a community volunteer group
- Ate using chopsticks
- Attended a first aid course
- Went to the British Library
- Used the squat rack in the gym
- Had an espresso martini
- Used a sewing machine
- Poached an egg
- Played chess for the first time
- Successfully completed some monkey bars
- Went to the Tate Modern
- Changed a car wheel (or helped to!)
- Drank a shot out of a belly button
- Made fudge
- Played golf
- Made a pizza from scratch
- Did a French braid
- Whittled some wood
- Learned a simple tap routine
- Tried to whistle with my fingers – couldn’t do it loudly!
- Drove my nieces in my car
- Looked after my nieces by myself
- Made a rainbow cake
- Tried embroidery
- Went to the National Gallery
- Helped my brother prepare for the launch of his food business
- Was part of a human pyramid
- Bowled without bumpers
- Visited a Mormon temple
- Tried to start a fire without matches – failed!
- Managed to do/hold the crow yoga pose
- Tried soldering
- Learned how to fold clothes super quickly
- Got my eyebrows tinted
- Saw a play version of “Cluedo”
- Went on my first solo trip
- Went to Belfast/Northern Ireland for the first time
- Saw the Giant’s Causeway
- Booked a mystery holiday trip
- Made butternut squash soup
- Went to a painting class
- Tried knitting
- Let my nieces do my hair and makeup
- Tried super hot curry dishes
- Drove a van
- Went to a clairvoyant audience night
- Watched reality TV (which I usually avoid/hate)
- Went to Highgate Cemetery
- Upcycled an old stool
- Went paddle boarding
- Saw my mom get married
- Tried paper mache
- Visited St. Paul’s Cathedral
- Fixed my bathroom plug
- Watched a brass band – Old Dirty Brasstards
- Attempted to learn to play the ukulele (gave up!)
- Watched “Only Fools” and “Horses” for the first time
- Watched a foreign film without subtitles
- Went on my first solo trip outside the UK
- Exploring around Budapest
- Went to a thermal spa
- Had a mini tutorial on how to fix my boiler
- Went on a ghost walking tour around London
- Made jam from scratch
- Made scones to go with it!
- Went lambing
- Played skittles
- Fed a tortoise
- Visited Crystal Palace Park
- Went on a tour of Lloyd’s Building
- Made tapas from scratch including a Spanish tortilla
- Tried sherry
- Went to see Ed Byrne perform
- Explored somewhere nearby foot in my local area
- Went to Virginia Water
- Joined an outdoor fitness class
- Went on an organized walk
- Made space cakes! Potentially NSFW??!!
- Visited the Museum of London
- Made banana bread
- Went around the Royal Mail museum
- Tried geocaching
- Went to a butterfly house
- Visited Krakow/Poland
- Tried local dish pierogi
- Went on an e-scooter
- Visited Auschwitz
- Had peanut wotsits
- Tried Tyskie
- Went on a vodka-tasting tour
- Tried moonshine – 72% strength
- Visited some salt mines
- Went to a poetry reading session
- Got pooed on by a bird!
- Went to Bluewater
- Tried bubble tea
- Tried Zumba
- Went to the Bank of England Museum
- Saw Craig David
- Had a selfie with a sportsman
- Made a blueberry cheesecake
- Adopted an orangutan via WWF
- Did a proper tequila shot
- Tried reflexology
- Went to Leonardslee Gardens
- Went up the Monument
- Saw a gig at Knebworth
- Joined in a mosh pit
- Did a solo escape room
- Went to a local town’s museum
- Got a spray tan
- The above involves getting totally naked in front of a stranger in their kitchen
- Learned a magic trick
- Did an open-water lake swim
- Went to Sicily
- Tried Aperol and Limoncello spritz
- Ate lungs/spleen
- Ate fish eggs
- Tried aloe vera water
- Sampled local delicacies such as cannoli and gelato brioche
- Used a bidet
- Went on holiday with my boss
- Tried tiramisu
- Started taking collagen supplements
- Tried teeth whitening strips
- Used Stitch Fix
- Attempted to create a world record with Joe Wick at Hyde Park
- Tried venison
- Went on a tour of Parliament
- Joined in a Pride march
- Saw the Changing of the Guard
- Went to Superbloom at the Tower of London
- Went to an Ibiza classic orchestra gig
- Sat on someone’s shoulders
- Watched Tower Bridge going up
- Went to Lates at ZSL
- Went to some local urban caves
- Tried cryolipolysis
- Tried to save a nestling – failed 🙁
- Tried a gooseberry
- Did a turmeric shot
- Acknowledged that my attitude to spending money and treating myself has totally changed – a reflective point
- Went to the Cotswolds
- Got a selfie with Brum
- Went kata kanu-ing
- Went to a Michelin-star restaurant
- Visited Glastonbury (place, not festival, unfortunately!)
- Tried a shakti mat
- Watched a play at an outside theatre
- Had a surf lesson
- Went to the Eden Project
- Went to Dopamine Land
- Tried a CPD drink
- Made my own protein bars
- Went to an outdoor cinema screening
- .. And watched “Casablanca” for the first time
- Made a poke bowl
- Went to a hot air balloon show
- Tried mac n’ cheese
- Went to an air rifle gun range
- Had a beekeeping experience afternoon
- Tried honey beer
- Went on a pedalo
- Watched a jousting tournament
- Flew with Ryanair – and didn’t have any issues – might have to reword this to just “well-known problematic budget airline?”
- Visited ROI/Dublin
- Visited Trinity College
- Visited Cliffs of Moher
- Visited Galway
- Went to a leprechaun museum
- Got Sea-Monkeys
- Tried breast milk
- Went to Sutton Hoo
- Went to Seven Sisters/Beachy Head
- Watched Alan Partridge
- Tried plantain
- Gave blood
- Went to All Points East Festival
- Got access to a VIP area
- Created a 360-degree video
- Made a scarecrow
- Went to Croatia
- Visited Split
- Went to Froggyland
- Went to Brac
- Swam in the sea during a storm
- Went to Dubrovnik
- Went to Montenegro
- Played netball
- Had a photo with a policeman
- Saw a black swan
- Went on a barge trip
- Tried tie dye
- Learned to do a proper bun hairstyle
- Had a go at being a window cleaner
- Volunteered as a race marshall for a half marathon
- Made apple cake
- Saw a change in royalty
- Tried reformer Pilates
- Went to Costco
- Had a bird of prey experience afternoon
- Went on a Midsomer Murders coach trip
- Saw where “Goodnight Mister Tom” was filmed (fave film)
- Watched a plowing contest
- Went on a tractor ride
- Tried pumpkin spiced latte
- Went on a Thames Rocket speedboat
- Went on the London Eye
- Walked along the Thames beach
- Went to a casino
- Went to an Oktoberfest
- Drank a stein of beer
- Finally worked out how to screencast from my phone to the TV
- Made a wax melt artwork
- Tried macrame
- Watched and painted along to a “Joy of Painting with Bob Ross”
- Featured in a corporate video for work
- Had a 1:1 psychic reading
- Flew a plane
- Made ice cream
- Went to a Kiran and meditation evening
- Went to Sweden
- Went to Malmo
- Went to Denmark
- Went to Copenhagen
- Went on a train over the sea
- Slept in a “pod” at a hotel
- Saw the Little Mermaid statue
- Saw the Danish Changing of the Guard
- Tried stegt flaesk
- Went pumpkin picking
- Went to a football match alone
- Tried gold collagen eyepatches
- Tried a face roller
- Attempted crochet
- Went to puppy yoga
- Saw the Thames Barrier
- Went on a boat trip around a wind farm
- Watched “Hocus Pocus” for the first time
- Went on a Murder Mystery Train experience
- Asked someone on a date
- Dated an older man – definitely a DILF 😉
- Went to Science Museum Lates
- Went to Letters Live
- Carved and painted some pumpkins
- Went down the ArcelorOrbital slide
- Ran up a downward escalator
- Went to a lights and lanterns display
- NSFW!
- NSFW!
- Skateboarded
- Drove a Tesla
- NSFW!
- Went to a sketch comedy show
- Had a ski lesson
- Went to Morocco
- Went to Marrakesh
- Had a selfie with a monkey (against my will)
- Ate snails
- Went to a hammam spa
- Went to Dans le Noir (dining in the dark)
- Went on a silent disco musical walking tour
- Attended a lecture about serial killers
- Had a CACI facial
- Tried virtual clay pigeon shooting
- Went axe throwing
- Went to an ice hockey match
- Made a key lime pie
- Had a selfie with a pigeon
- Tried mulled cider
- Toasted a marshmallow on a fire
- Pulled a pint in a pub
- Tried shisha
- Took part in a Park Run event
- Tried a physalis (weird little fruit I’d never heard of)
- Snapped a wishbone
- Started an Excel course
- Went to a local historical society talk
- Took a well-being day off of work
- Went to a ballroom dancing class
- Inadvertently failed to turn up at an awards ceremony in my honor (I thought the email was spam)
- Picked my nieces up from school
- Went to a pantomime
- Attended an online cookery class
- Made katsu curry from scratch
- Tried curling
- Took the ice bucket challenge
- Went to Austria
- Went to Vienna
- Rode on a double-decker train
- Saw the Spanish riding school training session
- Went to a classic Vivaldi concert
- Volunteered for the Samaritans as a fund-raiser
- Caught a grape in my mouth
- Streaked!
- NSFW!
- Interviewed by media and will imminently be in print
- Went line dancing
- Went speed dating
