Goals

"I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don't set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential.  When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, s/he will then be able to make a great difference in the results s/he attains in this life."  M. Russell Ballard

From the time I was a tiny thing, I dreamed of doing big things.  Really big things.  I somehow inherently knew that this world has a lot of good to offer, and I always wanted to take advantage of that.  Life was always this big adventure that I could experience.  My poor mother must have gone crazy trying to keep me entertained growing up, because I always felt so anxious to go out and experience things.

It wasn't really until serving a mission in New York City that I was able to rein in my ambitions and organize them thoughtfully.  While I was working as a missionary, I realized that I had already accomplished a lot of things on my "to do" list.  However, I felt the need to continue to write down my goals-- however silly or insignificant it seemed at the time.  After all, it's my life, and I ought to live it as fully as I can.

Setting goals isn't enough, though.  Steps have to be actively taken in order to reach those goals.  SO, to keep myself more accountable to those goals which I've set, I'm going to post some of my goals here.  Hopefully that will keep me motivated to continue dreaming AND achieving.

*goal is ongoing or is in progress
goal has been achieved!

*1.  get a Master's degree
2.  add some kind of Spanish emphasis to my current degree, or have it included in my Master's degree
3.  become a homeowner
4.  find a full-time teaching position
*5.  write (in some cases, rewrite) the novels I have swimming around in my head
*6.  volunteer to work with a children's choir
7.  SCUBA certification
8.  learn how to cut hair (cosmetology school?)
9.  massage therapy school... just for fun
10.  motorcycle license
11.  study Judaism and the Hebrew language to help me better understand Christianity
12.  play the violin in a symphony orchestra
*13.  learn to sew well enough that I could make and/or tailor wedding dresses
14.  take gourmet cooking classes
15.  serve another mission
16.  become a volunteer temple worker
17.  learn to play the guitar
18.  learn to play the harp
19.  learn to jump-serve in volleyball
20.  learn another language besides Spanish (maybe Korean to talk with my pen pal in her language?)
21.  learn to play the harmonica really well
22.  play the bagpipes at least once
23.  go on an international roadtrip to visit temples
24.  participate in a real archaeological dig
*25.  become a cake decorator-- a really good one
*26.  help missionaries get people to church
*27.  take care of missionaries on the holidays
28.  learn to read the tenor clef (it's a musician thing)
29.  memorize Wedding March, Pachabel's Canon, etc. -- so I can play at weddings when asked on the spot
30.  master making pottery using a pottery wheel
31.  learn a martial art
35.  build a dollhouse
36.  finish a marathon
37.  compose a song in Spanish
*38.  grow flower and vegetable gardens
39.  visit a real princess castle
*40.  get a concealed carry permit
42.  learn to snag fish in Alaska-- apparently it's really fun
44.  go to Disneyland
45.  get really good at golf
47.  get really good at horseback riding
49.  attend an Olympic games as a spectator
50.  swim with sharks
51.  attend a 49ers game with my brothers in San Francisco
52.  learn to work on cars-- maybe even rebuild a classic
53.  volunteer at a hospice
54.  make a family history website
55.  learn to play the trapset
56.  crochet, knit, and embroider
57.  publish a children's picture book about a dog from the Bronx named Bear and his pigeon sidekick Nubbers
58.  make a mission slideshow using mission photos from my brothers and myself
*62.  manage my finances
63.  write to troops serving overseas
*64.  spoil my nieces and nephews
68.  learn to throw a spiral, even though I'm pretty sure my hands are too small to physically do it
69.  meet my pen pal in person-- trip to Korea!
*71.  stay in touch with those I met in New York
72.  send my mom and her sisters on a trip to Europe to see Switzerland and wherever else they've always wanted to go
*73.  get a 6-pack, not the pop, the abs
*74.  learn to play the ukulele

AND, for fun

75.  travel through time and space with the Doctor, Captain America, and that one actor from the Bollywood movie Dil Bole Hadippa

I'm sure the list will continue to grow and change as new things become important to me.  For now, I think I've got my work cut out for me.