bucket list

growing up, i had big dreams for my life. i mused on and was determined about lush plans and ambitions. i was quixotic about the years ahead of me. and truly, all my dreams came true, they really did.

but for some reason my starry-eyed spirit didn’t have concrete aspirations and wishes past about age twenty-five.

so now i’m working to formulate what my adult dreams should be, and figuring out how tightly i should cling to them, and learning how to deal with what is not really within my control.

i’m definitely in the camp of “life is short” so “live it up while you can!” but lately i’ve also been thinking about how life is long. i genuinely believe i’m only about a quarter of the way though, and that continuing to grow up will continue to be a marvelous mortal experience, no matter how many years go by or dreams become fulfilled.

i’ll never forget a moment of crystal clarity that i experienced last year in the temple. i was looking into an ordinance worker’s deep, wrinkled face. she was maybe the oldest looking person i’ve ever seen in real life. my bright eyes connected with her glassy eyes and it hit me – the best is yet to come. there is so much ahead of me. life is long.

i was thinking about this yesterday and decided i should work on compiling a bucket list. below is a first draft, obviously incomplete, but a good start. some things i’ve listed are excruciatingly deep desires, and some are frivolous wishes, but all are dreams in my bones.

i really love mortality. i hope the next three-quarters can be progressively more fantastic. {yes, i plan to live to 100}

get married in the temple
give birth naturally
give birth again
live in new york city
live in india
live in china
live in europe
serve a mission
street perform
contribute something tangible to the building of a temple
take an international trip alone
run a half-marathon
run a marathon
become a certified yoga instructor
study abroad in jerusalem
visit all the national parks
see the northern lights
drive across the country
own a bed & breakfast
hike mt. timpanogos
ride a bike around bear lake
read all the chronicles of narnia
get into a competitive university
graduate from college
teach english as a second language
find a fulfilling career
have a secret boyfriend
be somewhere where all i can see to the horizon is sand
feel an earthquake
skydive
scuba dive
boy haircut (post-marriage)
write and publish a book
own a house and create a home
do an around-the-world trip
kiss a stranger
be fluent in another language
spend a weekend at a spa
paint something that i hang on my wall
own a mac computer
throw an incredible surprise party
roadtrip from vancouver to tiajuana
ride an elephant
ride a camel
volunteer at the olympics
see the spiral jetty
observe ramadan
move somewhere exciting without a plan
win an award
win a big prize out of luck
do the middle splits
times square on new years eve
have a garden
invent something
get kissed in the rain
dance in new york
have a regular column in a newspaper or magazine
go to culinary school
be quoted
go to a yoga retreat
singlehandedly cook an entire thanksgiving dinner
be in a parade
be in the middle of a real-live lantern festival (yes, just like that scene in tangled)
take my husband to israel
ride in a hot air balloon
buy a plane ticket on the next plane out, no matter where it’s going
learn to sail
sew an entire outfit for myself
surf
get a master’s degree
read the book of mormon in one week