30 BEFORE 30

30 BEFORE 30 is a guidebook cum memoir centered around 30 things the author wishes to achieve before she turns 30, promising personal anecdotes to illustrate her points and practical takeaway for the reader to apply lessons to their own lives.

Something was nagging Marina. As a freshly minted adult with student loan payments, a barely hospitable New York apartment, a “real” job she hated that paid her enough to get by if she also worked two other jobs, something had to be done. Over a few bottles of Two Buck Chuck (the only fine wine her budget allowed), Marina and her friend Tessa hatched a plan to improve their lives. They each made lists of thirty things they’d do before the age of thirty. The first thing on Marina’s list was, “Quit My Shitty Job.” And Marina did! She quit and just like that the List powered her through her twenties.

In her first book, 30 BEFORE 30, Marina will take readers through each challenge on her list and tell a personal story about checking her goals off. They range in scope from the simple (Ride A Bike Over the Brooklyn Bridge, Donate Hair) to the life-changing (Move to A Different Country, Become internet Famous), but each one shows readers in their late teens/early twenties that we don’t all have it figured out, and that’s okay. The hope of this book is to entertain, motivate, and challenge them to get out of their comfort zones and live their best lives. The light at the end of the tunnel is that it worked for Marina. She did become internet famous (a viral video of her quitting her job after moving to Asia has nearly 19 million views on You Tube) and now she has a dream job as a writer on Comedy Central’s hit show @Midnight, is also an in-demand stand up, and had a very popular Modern Love column published in the New York Times. None of that would have happened if she didn’t start her list that night. Thank you Two Buck Chuck!


Marina has written for LA Weekly, Glamour, the New York Times, The Huffington Post, and LinkedIn. She is known for a viral video of her (precisely timed) resignation. She now writes for @Midnight, a hit show on Comedy Central.