"Live Your List"

I make lists. I make shopping lists, to-do lists, wish lists, priority lists, names of people I need to write letters to, and have quite the list of states I've visited. In my previous post, I mentioned the anxiety I had over not planning my life past the age of 30. Now that I'm a full year into my thirties (as of yesterday), I can say that not only are they better than ever, but also, I have finally created a new List! There is much to be thankful for having done, but yet there is much more to do!

Writer, keynote speaker, and leadership consultant Ryan Eller has developed Live Your List , encouraging people to intentional living. This list is by no means all-comprehensive. I suspect it will continue to grow. Following Ryan's model, here is my List:

1. Visit all 50 states

2. Live in London and work with a ministry there

3. Earn a Master's degree (preferably from either Vanderbilt or Oxford)

4. Compete professionally as a ballroom dancer

5. Meet a president and/or prime minister

6. Participate in a flash mob

7. Model for Oscar de la Renta

8. Lead someone to Christ

9. Publish a novel and/or book of poetry

10. Dance Argentine tango in Buenos Aires

11. Ride in a hot air balloon

12. Go to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

13. See the Northern Lights

14. Ride a gondola in Venice

15. Be debt free.

16. Take my mom on a trip to Nova Scotia

17. Ring in the new year in different time zones- 2001, London, England; 2008, Fairbanks, AK

18. Spend a fall weekend at a cabin in Gatlinburg- Fall 2003

19. Live on an island- Sept-Dec 2004, Martha's Vineyard, MA

20. Write and record an album- Spring 2010

21. Serve at orphanages in Mexico- Monterrey & Linares, Mexico, 1998 & 1999

22. Sing on stage with a celebrity- Kenny G @ Cincinnati Music Hall, Christmas 2000

23. Road trip out West- to Seattle and back, 1988?

       *I would like to do this one again as an adult. :)

24. Visit an ice hotel/igloo/hot springs in Alaska- New Year's Day, 2008

25. England: talked to a British guard at Windsor Castle, St. Paul's (nightwatch service), Stonehenge, boat across the English Channel, Canterbury- Dec 2000/Jan 2001

26. France: lunch in the French countryside, crepes, Notre Dame, Paris, Versailles- January 2001

27. Italy: Coliseum, Forum Romanum, throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain, gelato, street cafe outside the Pantheon, pizza marghuerita, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, Pompeii, watch the sunrise over Sorrento, Capri/Blue Grotto- January 2001

28. Music videos for award-winning country artists- March 2011-ongoing :)

29. Disney World- 1987?

       *Another one I'd like to do again as an adult

30. College spring break trip to Florida- Spring 2003

31. Attend a political rally- 2008

32. See dolphins in their natural habitat- Mediterranean, 2001; Panama City, FL 2010

33. Attend Space Academy- Huntsville, AL 1997

34. Visit Greece; tour the Acropolis, stand onstage at an ancient theatre & orate the opening lines from a Greek tragedy

35. Spend a few days exploring sunny Tuscany

36. Visit Spain

37. Look out over the expanse of the Grand Canyon

38. Ride a river cruise down the Ohio & Mississippi Rivers

39. Kneel in the Garden of Gethsemene

40. Give away $10,000

41. Ride the Staten Island Ferry- Spring 2005

42. Experience NYC with a man I love

43. Go white-water rafting- August 2003

44. Sneak onto an overlook in the Appalachian Mountains and watch a meteor shower- August 1997, 1998, 1999 (?)

45. Go sailing

46. Drive the Pacific Coast Highway through California, north to south (hit all the high points)

47. Ride a train- Paris to Rome, January 2001 (Unfortunately, this happened at night. So, while my ears were screaming that we were in the Alps, I did not get to see them with my eyes.)

48. See the Alps!

49. Ride a train across the United States

50. Have high tea with a member of the Royal Family

51. Help provide clean water to a village in Africa

52. See U2 in concert- November 2004

53. Support the troops on a USO Tour

54. Witness a group of Alzheimer's patients come to life through the power of music- Summer 2008

55. Go snorkeling in Hawaii

56. Tour the White House- 1996?

57. Be formally invited to the White House

58. Remember my mom's chili recipe by heart

59. Take my dad to the one place outside of the US that he has a desire to visit- Australia

60. Waltz with a United States Smooth Champion

61. Kiss in the pouring down rain

62. Perform a leading role in a regional theatre production

63. Sell an original painting

64. Help build literacy programs in E. KY & West Virginia

65. Attend the Blackpool Dance Competition

Life begins at 30... And why I love it that way.

Life begins at 30*. I've heard this so often lately, mostly because I am, in fact, 30, along with the majority of my peers. It seems a natural time for us all to reflect. As I approach 31 in less than two weeks, I can say that the first year of my thirties was a delightful surprise; it had its difficulties, but overall, quite good. And though I can't speak for myself 9 or 10 years from now (that next big birthday) I know a few certain things about life up to this point. I can't explain how it happens, but the waters start to run clear.

This time last year, I was convinced it was all over. In those cold November days leading up to my 30th birthday, I was overcome with anxiety. My biggest fear was this (as I remember telling my dad over the phone one grief-stricken evening): "Everything that I ever thought I would've done by the time I turned 30 I haven't done. I never planned my life beyond that." I was terrified. Life after my twenties was a complete and utter blank.

The anxiety I was dealing with had less to do with all of the things I hadn't done-- all that stuff that most people do right out of high school and college, the "normal" stuff that all of your friends post about as "life events" on their Facebook timeline. It wasn't so much about having regrets. My twenties were fantastic-- I traveled a lot, I fell in love, I started working on my dreams...

Your twenties are like a decade-long experiment in figuring out what works and what doesn't.

Looking back, it was all discovery and preparation.

But as the day approached, I felt like I was standing in front of a giant white wall with neither a door to open nor even a window to peek through. I knew that God-given opportunities lay ahead, but I had zero vision for my life.

Now I know, with all certainty, that there is so much more to do and so much more to be.

When I say that life begins at 30, I'm talking more about the intangible stuff. The stuff of knowing who you are, of knowing what's worth fighting for, of seeing things objectively, of setting new goals, of being comfortable in your ever-so-slightly-wrinkled (even-if-others-can't-see-it-but-you-definitely-can) beautiful skin, of knowing your opinion matters not only because you matter but because you have lived, because you survived your twenties!! And perhaps what I love most of all is how life begins at 30, when the true dreams of your life- the ones you didn't even know you had- are finally within reach.

*This post is not based on science. Results may vary. :)