On August 4, I officially crossed off the very first item on my 50 by 50 bucket list: Learn to play mahjong.

Let me just say this — it’s nothing like the computer version I used to play. Not even close.

Luckily, I had the best possible teacher. My dear, kind, endlessly patient friend Caryn took on the brave task of teaching four total newbies how to play. (Yes, four. At once. That alone deserves a medal.) With her calm presence and steady guidance, we dove into a world of tiles, suits, jokers, and “Charlestons” that left our heads spinning — in the best way.

It wasn’t easy. There were moments of total confusion. We’d cheer because we finally thought we might have it figured out, only to realize we were one joker or crak short — or had misread the card entirely. And don’t even get me started on the passing tiles part. Whose idea was it to make strategy a part of learning?

But by the end of the evening, something clicked. Slowly but surely, the chaos started to make sense. We weren’t good by any means, but we were catching on. And more importantly, we were laughing — a lot.

A special shoutout to those of us with some mild OCD tendencies: mahjong tiles are not your friends. You will want to line them up. Stack them. Reorder them. Fix other people’s tiles. Resist. Or don’t. Just maybe warn your fellow players first.

Learning mahjong reminded me why I made this list in the first place. It’s not just about the checkmarks. It’s about doing something new, something out of my comfort zone, surrounded by people who lift me up and laugh with me when I have no clue what I’m doing.

So here’s to #1: messy, memorable, — and completely perfect.

Onward to the next adventure.