My Security Blanket

I like to make lists. It’s almost a compulsive function for me; they make me feel in control. While brainstorming for a name for my blog, I even made a list of Future Blog Entries. This entry was not on the approved list, but I’m posting it anyway.

The first list that I can recall was created sometime during sixth grade, in Mrs. Byrd’s class. I don’t know if we’d just learned the 50 states and capitals or what, but when I got bored in class, it became a game to try to list all 50 states in alphabetical order, the first time through, without leaving any out (forget the capitals – I’m not that good). To this day, when I don’t already have a list of things to write down when I’m waiting somewhere, I fall back on my trusty states list.

One of the many lists I’ve made over the years was created in high school, that era when dreams and ideals are established, until cruel reality descends after graduation. It was a simple list of general “things I’d like to do someday.” I still have the original list, and here are the items (the asterisks (*) indicate that I actually HAVE done these things, or at least somewhat, as explained in the accompanying side notes):

1. Learn how to fly a plane [who cares – see The Worst Case Scenario Handbook instead!]
2. Learn how to fly a helicopter [ditto]
3. Travel across America by car, without a schedule
4. Visit and learn about: NYC, Chicago*, Atlanta*, San Francisco, LA*, Hollywood*, DC*, Boston, Salem, Dallas, Austin, Seattle [I’ve visited some cities, not extensively, but seen enough of the sights to be appreciative, and now of course, I LIVE near Atlanta]
5. Learn to ice skate*, snow ski, and water ski* – WELL [I’m not GREAT at it, but I have enough skill to enjoy it]
6. Learn ballroom dancing* [next on my list, at John’s urging!]
7. Learn about genealogy, handwriting analysis, photography*, and interior design*
8. Make one great, UNLAUDED contribution to mankind
9. Write a Bestseller
10. Have a role in a movie, however minor
11. Become an editor for a publishing house [editor for a magazine will do, also]
12. Become an English professor* [does high school English teacher come close?!]
13. Become a math professor [I dropped my English/math double major after my freshman year, so this ain’t happening]
14. Learn sign language
15. Gain a rudimentary knowledge of ballet & gymnastics
16. Be able to drive a stickshift expertly
17. Come up with a legitimate question that my AP Calculus teacher can’t answer [he challenged us that we couldn’t find a question he couldn’t answer]
18. Run a 400m in 60 seconds
19. Run a mile in 6 minutes
20. Live to be 100 years old and not be senile [I’ve decided since making this list that I do NOT want to meet this goal – the 100 years part, not the senile part. Why torture yourself??]
21. Be able to read lips

In college, I made another, much SHORTER list with the same theme:

1. Hold a koala bear
2. Swim with the dolphins
3. Hear Itsak Perlman (the great violinist) in concert

So far, I have met 2 of those 3 goals. I had a 10-hour layover in Australia one time and had researched ahead of time where to go hold a koala. It cost $8 (whereas, in the U.S., you know it would have been at least $50 per person or something), and I don’t even remember the actual moment, I was so excited. I don't even care that people make fun of the picture (Chandler Bing voice: Could your smile BE any bigger?). For the other, a kind college friend got tickets to see Itsak Perlman and the Florida Philharmonic in Miami and invited me. Anyone who cares to help make the third item on my list come true, what’s stopping you?

They say if you write down your goals, you are more likely to achieve them. I don’t know who “they” are, but I agree. From time to time, I take out lists like these and remind myself that even the dreams that seem impossible to achieve can come true.

Now I need to go write up my grocery list, which is actually one list I DON’T like to make. Afterward, I will cheer myself up by making a list of things that must be done tomorrow, like find out if I got the job I applied for (see # 11).