Goals are funny things.
…easy to make, easier to break, and everyone insists on having them. Including me.
One day, at the end, when I look back at my home movie of memories, I want it to be a good show. I want it to be interesting. I do not want to measure my success by any other standard but happiness, which, is as messy and subjective of a method as it gets, but I don’t care. This is me. This is mine. I am determined to get there. This list is my first step, my biggest step, in that direction.
Here we go!
100 Life Goals
1. Eat shrimp under the cherry blossoms at The Four Seasons.
2. Learn how to tell a decent joke.
3. Take a photography class.
4. Throw a penny from Eagle’s Nest, Switzerland.
5. Have a sandwich named after me.
6. Go 7 days without looking in the mirror.
7. Go 30 days with out referring to the past.
8. Float in Lake Rebta (the pink sea, Senegal).
9. Learn to play banjo (viable alternative: ukulele).
10. Take a photo inside The Cheshire Cheese pub, London.
11. Replace a lock by myself.
12. Own a Turkish rug.
13. Join a marching band (majorette boots required).
14. Make a will.
15. Live without fear of losing everything.
16. Wear a solid gold dress.
17. Pet a skunk.
18. Hug a Santa.
19. Write a book.
20. Sell a book.
21. Learn video editing.
22. Own a farm.
23. Visit the Hemingway estate in Key West (coming home with a six fingered cat: optional).
24. Develop a signature scent.
25. Hire a housekeeper on a regular basis.
26. Do ten pushups (not the girly kind).
27. Save 12 months of expenses for an emergency fund.
28. Finish paying off student loans.
29. Help someone else pay for college.
30. Live in a castle.
31. Play a didgeridoo.
32. Tour Venice in a gondola.
33. Scatter my father’s ashes.
34. Replace my mother’s headstone.
35. See a live taping of Saturday Night Live.
36. Take a Christmas tour of the White House.
37. Watch the sunset from the top of the Empire State Building.
38. Make a six-tier coconut cake.
39. Rally 1,000 people people around a specific cause/purpose.
40. Wear a rhinestone possum necklace.
41. Go to Iceland.
42. Learn how to develop a mobile app.
43. See a mermaid.
44. Visit India for the Holi festival.
45. Set up a projector in the back yard for a movie night.
46. Stay in a cabin at the Neshoba county fair.
47. Learn to make the perfect mohito.
48. Host or attend a Friendsgiving meal.
49. Visit Sesame Street.
50. Spend a night at the Greenbrier.
51. Take an autumn leaf tour in Vermont.
52. Go to Kenya and stay in the Giraffe Manor.
53. Have my picture taken under the St. Louis Oklahoma welcome sign.
54. Land in an airport to find a driver with a sign with my name on it.
55. Drive an 18wheeler truck.
56. Learn another language well enough to conduct a full conversation.
57. Leave someone a $100 tip on a $20 check.
58. Go 30 days without processed food.
59. Host a surprise party.
60. Watch a meteor shower.
61. See my home in a magazine via my own photo.
62. Drive a zamboni.
63. Get rid of my turkey neck.
64. Attend service in St. Peter’s square.
65. Open an Etsy store.
66. Make a cathedral square quilt.
67. Master the perfect cheesecake recipe.
68. Get Lola’s portrait painted.
69. Find my dad’s first wife.
70. Find my dad’s brother.
71. European river cruise.
72. Sit in the audience at the Scripts National Spelling Bee.
73. See the cherry blossoms in Washington DC.
74. Go to ascot in a crazy hat.
75. Hold a sloth (viable alternative: koala bear).
76. Catch a falcon.
77. Eat in a busy/fancy restaurant by myself.
78. Drive an RV (or passenger van) across the US.
79. Raise alpaca.
80. Make a playlist of 100 food themed songs.
81. Go to the Golden Girls house.
82. Host an ice cream social.
83. Pick berries by day and bake pie by night.
84. Visit Jane Austen’s home in Hampshire.
85. Visit LM Montgomery’s Green Gables.
86. Visit Hemingway’s Buffet de la Gare.
87. Spin wool.
88. Make homemade ice cream.
89. Hire an intern.
90. Buy a car for a single parent.
91. Create a 501c3 foundation.
92. Go see the original Winnie the Pooh.
93. Consult an independent financial adviser (not just the guy my employer provides).
94. Ride in a helicopter.
95. Meet a president (while they are president, any country).
96. Run a 5k color run.
97. Karaoke-sing a song I’ve never heard before.
98. Sleep in a tent in the rain.
99. Witness aurora bourealis.
100. Plant a magnolia.
In 1940, when John Goddard was 15, he sat down and wrote out a list of 127 things he wanted to do and see; everything from climbing Mt. Rainier, to swimming the Great Barrier Reef, to studying the native tribes of New Guinea.You can see his list here, and yes, he managed to tick off most of it before passing away earlier this year. If something like that doesn’t inspire you to set some goals, I don’t know what will.
Maggie Berry of Mighty Girl, who has an amazing list herself, offers lectures and weekend workshops on this very subject. A lot of people keep a bucket lists, and I get that, but I like Maggie’s term better: a life list.
This thing has been in the works for years. A number of items did not make the top 100 list because 1. I removed anything I already scratched off in recent years, and/or 2. I removed anything that depended on active participation from other people. Doing things with other people is okay, depending on other people is not okay. Perhaps that sounds odd but it’s important to me. If something does or doesn’t happen, it’s on me. Alone. I know far too many people, women in particular, who have seen their dreams take a backseat to circumstances dictated by others. That won’t be happening here.
…and, okay, so, yeah, I also realize not everything on here will get done. I’m okay with that too. Actually, if I ever did manage to hit all 100 I’d spend my days in fear of eminent doom, so maybe it’s better this way. For now the goal is to get it out there into the world then start scratching them off bit-by-bit every year. It’s going to be awesome. I hope you will stick around and follow the ride!
Or, better yet, make your own.
What is on your life list?