Some Things Are Worth Remembering

I used to be an avid writer. I have pages and pages of old school notebooks that were filled with things I liked to call "Ramblings". I'd sit at school, watch people, listen to people and write essays about whatever was on my mind at the time. While looking for something entirely unrelated in my filing cabinet, I came across a folder containing some of these pages that I had ripped out. It occurred to me that these chosen pages contained ramblings that I wanted to remember.

I must have been feeling ambitious this particular day when I wrote down a list of things I would do if I knew I could not fail. Here's what I came up with that day:

- Find a cure for cancer.

- Graduate with 4 minors, a double-major, and a 4.0 GPA. Just for fun.

- Sing opera at the Met.

- Record a CD.

- Write 100 songs that I was proud of.

- Paint portraits.

- Raise horses.

- Be a Concert Pianist.

- Make and Donate Substantial funds to struggling 3rd World countries.

- Write weekly publications in a community newspapers.

- Try everything.

- Climb Everest.

- Build my kids a treehouse.

- Restore a 1960's Woody Wagon.

- Create new computer programs.

- Fund Healthcare programs for deserving families.

- Adopt.

- Sail everyday.

- Dance on Pointe.

- Ace the LSAT and pass the Bar for fun.

- Be fluent in Spanish, Latin, Italian, French, and Mandarin.

- Own a flat in Barcelona.

- Participate in an Olympic sport.

- Read the 100 Greatest Novels, then compile my own list.

- Have a farm that was capable of sustaining a comfortable life with my family.

- Take my kids wherever they want to go abroad.

- Share the Gospel at least once a day.

- Live to see every element of my Patriarchal Blessing realized.

- Write a novel.

- Design an amusement park.

- Create an organization dedicated to showing each visitor how lucky they are to be alive.

- Have an orchard.

- Grow acres of sunflowers.

- Love freely.

- See the Seven Wonders of the World...and then discover the 8th.

- Know enough to write a delicious, gourmet cookbook.

- Know enough to write an Encyclopedia.

- Install rescued wood floors.

- Spoil my grandchildren.

- Make my own clothes.

- Be the best at making everyone feel happy.

While some of these very well could come true, most are things I will never do. I think that the beauty of fantasizing that your life will be everything you want it to be is that you can see just how amazing your life has already been.

I'm just looking forward to the next 22 years.