In March of 1996, I was taking a rather unusual PE class. It was called Activities for Fitness and Weight Control, but we basically got to do whatever we wanted. At the beginning of class, we made contracts with the instructor regarding what we planned on accomplishing throughout the four months. One of the things I was required to do is make a list of things I want to do in my lifetime. He gave me a sample list, to help me along, but once I got started, I couldn’t stop! So instead of the expected list of 20, I handed him a list of 90. So here, for your reading pleasure, is my list of life-long goals. (Continually being edited.)
Marry in the templeServe a mission- Raise a righteous family
Become a professor- Visit Scotland; all the places my ancestors lived
- Get a pilot’s license
- Go on a mission with my love
- Learn how to play harp
- Learn how to play piano
Make a difference in the way at least one person views the importance of families- Design my own home
- Learn how to sculpt
- Save money with my husband to help pay for our children’s missions and college
- Learn at least one other language fluently
Look out from the top of the Eiffel TowerTravel all around the word, but not just sight-seeing—actually spend time with the people and the land, to learn their cultureHike Y Mountain- Visit Australia
- Camp a lot, especially in the mountains and near lakes
Take a cruise- Visit Robinson Bite where the Orcas go to rub their bellies on the pebbles
- See the 7 wonders of the World
- Paint a wall mural
- Write a book
- Have a picnic in the middle of a field of tall grass
- Visit Canada
- Ride in a hot air balloon
- Go back to the boundary waters
Scuba dive or snorkel in the CaribbeanShake the hand of a prophetFly a kite over the ocean, off a beach- Explore space—see the world from out there
Ride an elephant and camel- Have my picture taken with someone famous
- Learn how to sail a boat
- Go sea kayaking
- Get to be 24-26% body fat and stay there
Be a temple worker- Read the following books:
Ø Divine Comedy—Dante Alighieri
Ø Paradise Lost—John Milton
Ø Great Expectations—Charles Dickens
Ø Adventures of Tom Sawyer—Mark Twain
Ø Time Machine—HG Wells
Ø Walden—Henry David Thoreau
Ø A Marvelous Work and a Wonder
Ø Jesus the Christ—Talmage
Be quoted publicly- Become a proficient photographer
Own my own car- Spend a little time every day having fun and making someone happy
Own a top of the line computer with all the accessoriesSwim with dolphins- Learn how to dance: social, modern, and/or Latin
- Become good at a sport: tennis, basketball, or racquetball
Sleep under the stars, no tent- Run barefoot through a meadow full of flowers
- Build a sand castle as tall as I am
Dunk someone I know in a dunking boothHave a pillow fight with my husband and children- Take my children on field trips to see the back of a bakery, printing shop, a photo lab, toy factory, etc. so they can see how the world works
- Have a slumber party with my friends after I’m 60
Have 7 good hair days in a rowDive off a cliff into clear blue water- Look out from behind a waterfall
Get a 4.0 for at least one semester at BYU- Sleep between satin sheets
- Sit on a porch in the middle of a good thunderstorm
Explore secret passageways in a house- Have a picnic in the snow
- Dance with my love in a park at night
- Rock my baby in a hammock under a huge leafy tree
- Own a deep leather couch
- Have a bonfire on a beach
- Go white-water rafting
- Play a life-size board game, like clue or chess
- Teach my children to love life, nature, people, God, and themselves
- Hold a koala bear
- Learn the alto part to all my favorite hymns
- Learn how to live without debt
- Fully own a home—pay off mortgage
- Solve a mystery
- Put all my pictures into scrapbooks
- Learn some constellations and be able to find them
- Learn how to be truly humble
- For one Christmas, I want to make everything I give
Give a complete stranger a hug- Every day try to get people to smile
- See a lava lake in action
- Run for some kind of election
- Drive across country with a bunch of friends
Watch a movie on a huge screen while floating in water- Learn professional massage techniques
- Serve and love my husband
- Publish an article in a respected journal/paper
Learn how to eat and LOVE fruits and vegetables- Work on my genealogy to unite my family
- Teach my daughters how to be women
- Teach my children above all else that:
- Their Heavenly Father loves them,
- The gospel is true,
- The Savior is their Redeemer,
- In everything they have a choice, even if it’s just how to react, and that is the beauty of this life. Be grateful for our agency and use it for good.
