List Love

I am a huge fan of lists--so much in fact that my sister has said that I will love the book List Your Self. Apparently this is a book that offers list-making prompts that guide the list-makers towards some sort of self discovery.  Cheesy, yes, but she's right--I will probably love it!

There's something about the month of August that makes me take time to re-evaluate where I am in my life, where I am going, and then, the more aspirational, where I want to end up.  Ever since I was in twelfth grade I have been making goal lists at the close of every summer.  The contents of the August goal list at that age included silly things like "learn to kayak," "learn how to put on liquid eyeliner," and the ubiquitous eleventh grade goal of "be famous--" odd because I have zero desire to be famous at this point in my life. Nevertheless, the ritualistic goal-list-making has been a tradition that I have not only kept, but I feel really helps me to guide a life that perhaps, at times, might seem a little haphazard.  Anecdotal evidence of this: last year when I had an interview for a job, (which I was offered so I guess the comment wasn't meant to be quite as awful as it sounded) the person interviewing me said with a quizzical look: "Wow. Theater. Dance. Media Studies. Film. English. Education. Human Rights. Women and Gender Studies. You seem a little...unfocused."  I remember leaving and obsessing over her use of this word.  It sounded so negative. The way I saw it, I was just interested in a lot of things and liked to pursue a wide variety of interests.  That said, all of the many odd things that I have embarked upon have helped to shape who I am today and I have my (quite focused, thank you very much) goal lists to thank for that.

So why am I rambling on about lists? Well, it is the end of August and thus time once again for my goal list to be made.  This morning, after a visit to a favorite coffee shop for a croissant and a latte, I sat down to engage in my annual tradition.  On the list this August are a variety of pursuits that remind me how very similar I am to the person who first began making these lists back in high school, while all at once confirming just how different I am, and how much I have grown up.  While my lists are always private, here is a sneak peak at some of the goals for this year...

• Travel to Spain, Portugal, Nepal, Tibet, and Sweden. (I guess I better hope that the cost of airfare declines a little...)

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• Do twenty (consecutive) pull-ups on the jungle gym in the park by my house. (This is one I have been working on, but I have a long way to go!)
• Start (and finish) writing the book that has been churning around in my brain for the past year.

Here's to making goals, and, even better, to accomplishing them! Happy list making!