Wednesday, June 3, 2009

My Seven Year 100

I got a letter from Mrs. Riley yesterday. You know, the AP English teacher who taught me what syntax was? Anyway, the letter really wasn't from her: it was from me, my soon-to-graduate self, to my seven-years-later self. (Yes, I graduated from high school seven years ago. I'm getting old.) Included is a list of 101 things I wanted to accomplish in my lifetime. In reading over the list, I see a rather funny picture of my 18-year-old self. A few things I learned about myself THEN:

1. I was obviously a very obsessed student of art history, as there are approximately 14 great architectural wonders to see on my list.
2. And 17 different countries to visit. (I liked to travel, too.)
3. I was interested in the popular culture of the time. Ugh!
4. I thought I was very talented and was going to astonish the world. Ha!

However, I am proud to say that I have so far completed 25 of those 101 tasks, if I embellish a little, such as:

#75. Learn to speak Italian. (Now? Io non parlo italiano.)
#56. Go on a mission. (我是傳教士!)
#41. Graduate from college. (Go UTES!)
#91. Drive a tractor. (In my book, sprayer = tractor.)
#44. Eat authentic Chinese food. (Everyday for 18 months. Tasty.)
#29. Visit the Rain Forest. (And it rained!)
#42. Live on a farm. (Two days on a cotton farm counts, right?)

But what was I thinking with #62? "See the Scarlet Letter 6 more times"? I've never seen it one time, let alone six. Oh, and #97? "Read the Lord of the Rings series"? Why would I ever do that to myself?

Being older and wiser, I feel it is time for a new list. I still want to learn to milk a cow (#68), etc., but it is time for an update. Stay tuned for the new 100 to accomplish in the next 7 years!

It's going to be great!

6 comments:

Aly said...

If you want to drive a real tractor, come on over to my place. We borrow my dad's tractor all the time so we can get our yard squared away. I would be more than happy to put you to work.

Chelise said...

Jill how cool! I want to drive up to Woods Cross right now to see if my letter came to myself!

I love your goals- they're totally you :).

Jennie said...

What a fun thing for Mrs. Riley to do!

Eliza said...

Why would you want to read the Lord of The Rings series... why wouldn't you?! I'll have you know I cried when I finished the last book because I was sad to say goodbye to them. And I promise I'm not a super-nerd by any standards. :-D You should give them a try, they just might surprise you!

Kellee said...

That is awesome. I want to make list of 101 things to do in my life.

Laura said...

Ha Ha I got my letter this week too, kind of weird. It was fun to see that I have accomplished some of the things on my list, and it's obvious I made up some stuff to get 101! Hopefully I can get a few more crossed off my list over the rest of my life.