Saturday, November 27, 2010

A Life List


At the end of AmeriCorps, the big push was to think about "Life After NCCC." We were encouraged to think about what kind of life we wanted, what kind of jobs we were interested in, what paths we might take. I learned about the book The Back Door Guide to Short-Term Adventures, which unfortunately I never used (maybe someday I will). It felt like anything was possible, which was exciting as well as unnerving and scary. I was inspired to make a list--a life list, a list of things to do, to accomplish, to work towards, to wish for.

Here is the list all typed out and the 'verdict' on what I've done in the past eight years.

1. TRAVEL (in progress, but satisfactory so far!)

2. Mentor

3. Be an actor

4. Burn CDs

5. Get a master’s degree

6. Pay off my car

7. Dance! (I just saw Burlesque; it made me want to take dance classes. Too bad they're expensive.)

8. Collect maps

9. Write songs

10. Learn/study photography

11. Learn Latin (hahaha)

12. Design clothes

13. Work in film

14. Write a stage production (Oh! I totally did this for my students last year! Does that count?)

15. Buy a print/scan/copy/fax flatbed unit (I bought a scanner after AmeriCorps and a printer when I moved to NYC, but I've never had the thrill of an all-in-one unit.)

16. Learn Italian

17. Buy a new car

18. Own a zoom APS camera (Dated list :D)

19. Volunteer more

20. Find a job I love that lets me live well and travel (Teaching actually worked for the last two parts)

21. Work at a camp

22. Always learn new skills

23. Join a choir

24. Be an NCCC team leader in CA or MD (I applied but never heard back. It was the same time I applied to NYCTF, and after I'd applied to both I felt over NYC and was really excited about TL. Oh well.)

25. Always vote (I've always voted in the presidential elections, but this was my first midterm voting)

26. Donate blood (Total fail. Occasionally there's a trailer on a busy road near me, but I always see it when I'm either on my way somewhere or have time but haven't eaten anything. I always vow to come back and actually do it. But in the eight years since making this I have never donated. I will someday, though!)

27. Play ultimate a lot

28. Visit Alaska

29. Take a bike road trip

30. Get a tattoo (eeesh)

31. Make a movie (Does a stopmotion count?)

32. Visit Africa

33. Own TiVo

34. Be a writer

35. Learn auto maintenance

36. Live in Greece

37. Buy a diamond ring (Note "buy" not "get from a man"; I wanted to get one for myself just because.)

38. Start my own charity

39. Take a cross-country road trip

40. Learn calculus (hahaha)

41. Hike around Europe

42. Live simply

43. Grow roses and herbs

44. Never be complacent

45. Work for a non-profit (Teaching should really count for this...)

46. Lead a Girl Scout troop

47. Support causes I believe in

48. Take voice lessons

49. Buy a new computer

50. Write my life story

51. Buy books!

52. Open my own business

53. Learn HTML

54. Relearn piano

55. Sing on a published CD

56. Tour nation as a speaker

57. Publish a book

58. Live in Los Angeles (Good lord why?)

59. Live in New York City

60. Buy a big new stereo

61. Be a comedian

62. Find a place of my own

63. Study math, music, drama, art history, accounting, writing, poetry, language, drawing

64. Make new friends and visit old ones

65. Be strong

66. Join a softball league

67. Read 50+ books a year

68. Make a scrapbook with homemade paper

69. Hike at least a third of the Appalachian Trail (My knees wince at the mere thought.)

70. Go bungee-jumping (I've been ziplining twice! Much more compatible with my discomfort at freefalling.)

71. Work abroad

72. See one Broadway show a year

73. Write to my congresspeople

74. Work at a national park/reserve

75. Expand personal library of books, CDs, DVDs, videos

76. Find independence!

77. Own DVD/VHS combo

78. Work in community health/public health

79. Endorse a charity—libraries, environment

80. Live in Paris

81. Play the cello again

82. Teach (Wow.)

83. Buy a digital camera (Remember that in 2002, almost no one had digital cameras and they were super expensive.) (Done one, two, three, four, FIVE times. Holy cow.)



1 comment:

Jenna said...

try your local gym for "dance" lessons - a lot of exercise classes include it to make the class more fun.

Or there DVDs. It's not the same as a class, but it is way cheaper!