While on vacation, inspired by two of my closest friends, I started writing a list of things I want to do in the next few years of my life. And the best part is, the more I come up with, the more I get excited about living these next years!
Here's a classic example: On our way back through South Carolina, heading to Tennessee, I spotted a sign for the town of Joanna, and casually mentioned that I've always thought it would be funny to stop there and take pictures in front of the various signs of my namesake town.
I have become so accustomed, in my lifetime, to thinking and talking about my desires and then going on about my average day without doing anything about them, that I was shocked when my friend immediately, and without question, took the exit.
My heart was pounding. We were really going to go! I have been passing that exit for over a decade now, every time reading the sign, laughing to myself, and wanting to stop and take pictures. And suddenly, there we were, digging for a camera in the back seat of her car outside the not-so-classy-looking Joanna Dollar! It was fantastic.
We were then on a hunt for something truly sketchy, like a Joanna Body Shop or a massage parlor or something, and our efforts were highly rewarded upon the discovery of the Joanna Men's Club. Jackpot!
Needless to say, one of my new favorite photographs includes me standing blissfully before a huge sign that reads: Welcome to Joanna!
Welcome, indeed. It is my new tag line for life. I am becoming convinced that my life need not be mediocre and dull, simply because my job is boring and I am financially forced to live simply for awhile. Life was meant for living, and living well. There is truly an abundant life right before my eyes, if only I am willing to reach out and grab it!
So here are a few of the ways I will be attempting to live my life a little better in the coming years. A few of them have recently been checked off, but I'm including them anyway as a reminder that these things can be achieved if I put my mind to them. This, of course, is not a comprehensive list, because of the personal nature of some of my desired accomplishments, however it should give you an idea of the fun I will be having very shortly. Feel free to join me, or just mooch off my list, if any of these sound appealing :)
I have always wanted to...
* Stop in Joanna, South Carolina, and take pictures! (check!!)
* Fly to London for the day; see a few sights, catch a play, grab a meal in a pub, and come home.
* Be kissed in a Starbucks (No joke. Long story...) (check!! 04/13/11).
* Take dance lessons (check!! 05/12/09).
* Grow sunflowers (they're my favorite).
* Have an indoor cat (check!!)
* Learn how to sculpt.
* Get published! (Hallelujah! 09/10/08! Check it out: http://www.goodfortunesoap.blogspot.com/)
* Hug a koala bear.
* Try snowboarding.
* Become debt-free (sigh).
* See a life transformed.
* Spend an entire night on the beach.
* Live on my own (check!!)
* Paint a mural on a wall.
* Have my own Christmas tree! (this is gonna be the year...)
* Hike across New Zealand.
* Teach a child to read.
* Be completely and totally spoiled on a date (sadly, I have absolutely no control over whether or not this ever happens) (check :) 2011)
* Go skinnydipping (Lol! Even my Grandmother has done this and I still haven't!!!)
* Buy a brown suede couch (CHECK!!! 05/18/09).
* Learn how to cook. Well. (check! 2011)
* Swim with dolphins.
* Write and illustrate a children's book.
* Inspire someone to write a song about/for me. (CHECK!! 08/10/08. Thanks bro!! There's always room for one more, though...)
* Karaoke in public (my brother's condo, sadly, does not count, or this would be a check!)
* Read every Shakespeare play.
* Return to the Grand Canyon, and stay for several days this time instead of 20 minutes.
* Go to a Weezer concert!
* See a white Christmas (I think I stole this from someone, but I can't remember who. Thanks for the idea, whoever you are!!) (check 12/25/10... beautiful!! :))
* Memorize the constellations and the stories behind them. (Bought a Starfinder w/ constellation legends on 08/07/08!!)
* Love someone who doesn't deserve it (Beauty and the Beast is such a good story!).
* Attempt surfing while in Hawaii.
* Try "moonshine." (check! 2010)
* Fly first class!
* Kiss a guy who had no idea I was going to kiss him (I realize this could backfire horribly...) (Check! 2011)
* Play the slot machines in Vegas (betting on that beginner's luck...)
* Smoke a cigar (check!! 08/17/08).
* Have that conversation with my Dad.
* Take up charcoal and chalk pastels again (I used to be pretty good).
* Watch the sun rise and set over the ocean in the same day.
* Find my happy ending...
... and that's just the beginning! Come back in a day or two, and I'll have added more! :)
Post your favorite "I have always wanted to...'s" in the comments box!
Happy living!!!
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7 comments:
Before I post fun, I have to correct you, dear friend. Homeschooling has no correlation to one's dance abilities. I've found it has more to do with genetics, level of self-consciousness, and a dash of natural rhythm. :)
So for the fun. I want to...
...take Jo to a dance club one night, just the girls, and go crazy.
...hanglide.
...watch a meteor shower cuddled up with friends in someone's trunk. (check!)
...build an album of black-and-white photos of small towns and dilapidated buildings.
...try caviar, spotted dick, haggis, escargot, and other wild foods.
Love you!
Hey grinch, you stole my white Christmas!
Haha it was YOU!! I couldn't figure out who in the world that was... :)
okay, in no particular order, and only the ones that won't cause people to alternately turn me in or run in fear from me:
-go on vacation by myself (check!)
-go to New York (check! see above)
-be a groupie for U2
-buy a plane ticket to anywhere in Europe on a Friday for that same weekend (passport is being renewed now)
-dance on a bar. in public.
-have someone name a child after me
-spend $300 or more on a pair of shoes-high heels, of course
-go on the price is right
-rent an RV and roadtrip cross country with friends
-spend a night sleeping on the ground, outside, in the middle of nowhere
-ride on the back of a motorcycle holding onto a REALLY cute guy
-write a book. or at least a chapter in one of Jo's
-go to Prague with the person i'm in love with
-perform a trachiotomy on someone using only a knife and a straw
-own a professional gas oven/stove kitchen wonder for cooking
-ski a black diamond-without falling this time
-travel to all 7 continents but antartica (2 to go!)
and there's more...but this is the PG version!
there you go sweet jo-i heart you!
I do like that Welcome to Joanna pix. And I think you can put a check by #32.
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