The List

The List started with an assignment in Mr. Maddox's 7th grade homeroom to "write your own obituary"--morbid, I know. But 13-year-old me had a grand time with it. By the time I finally caved and got my driver's license 4 years later, I'd capped the list at 100. The List is not my roadmap for life. There are some items I no longer have the slightest interest in pursuing, several seem frankly impossible, and a few are positively cringe-worthy. But I haven't changed a single one. In the decades since, The List has taught me a lot about dreams; what they're worth, how they change, what it takes to achieve them, how powerful they can be.  

1    |      Hike Long’s Peak (Aug. 2000)

2    |     Pray with a Tibetan monk

3    |      Visit all the Temples

4    |      Own a Pure-bred Persian Cat (March 2013)

5    |      Swim with a Beluga Whale

6    |      Fly Over the Bermuda Triangle

7    |      Perform on a Broadway Stage (Oct. 2004)

8    |      Get Elected to Student Council (1995-1999)

9    |      See the Aurora Borealis + the Aurora Australis

10   |     Dance on Pointe

11   |     Skate at Rockefeller Center with the Christmas tree

12   |     Sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

13   |    Learn to Play the Harp

14   |    Sleep in a Snow Cave (January 2006)

15   |    See Old Faithful Erupt (July 2005)

16   |    Go to the Temple in Ghana

17   |    Have Black Babies

18   |    Ride a Tandem Bike Along a Boardwalk

19   |    Kiss Behind a Waterfall

20   |    Visit the Wailing Wall

21   |    See an Eastern Fall (Autumn 2002)

22   |    Walk in the Cherry Blossoms at the Capitol

23   |    Grow a Bonsai Tree

24   |    Sketch in Venice

25   |    See the Declaration of Independence

26   |    Be Struck by Lightening (a bit too close for comfort Aug. 2004)

27   |    Learn Spanish (Summer 2007)

28   |    Be Sung to in a Gondola in Italy

29   |    Climb to the Top of an Incan Temple (Winter 2010)

30   |    Hike the Grand Canyon at Sunrise (Fall 2006)

31   |    Float in the Great Salt Lake (June 2005)

32   |    Plant Fairy Rings of Daffodils and Tulips in My Lawn

33   |    Pick a Fresh Pineapple

34   |    See an Iceberg Calve

35   |    Box—for Real (June 2011)

36   |    Experience Zero Gravity

37   |    Wear a Red Hat to Church (October 2007)

38   |    Run a Marathon

39   |    Learn to Tango

40   |    Hear the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

41   |    Spend at Least 3 Consecutive Days in the Smithsonian

42   |    Visit Timbuktu (August 2010)

43   |    Work in the temple (February 2005)

44   |    Feed an Alligator in the Everglades

45   |    Pet a penguin (December 2008)

46   |    Request Extra Pages for My Passport

47   |    Sleep in a Hammock in the Rainforest (July 2011)

48   |    Sleep in a Glass-bottom Hut

49   |    Be Able to Pray in 10 Languages

50   |    See a Volcano Erupt

51   |    Be Arrested

52   |    Watch all the Star Wars Movies in Order

53   |    Grow and Harvest Wheat from Scratch (Spring/Summer 1997)

54   |    Teach My Kids Sign Language

55   |    Play a Real Game of Marbles on the Street in a Big City

56   |    Grow Herbs on my Kitchen Windowsill

57   |    Publish a book (January 2009)

58   |    Work as a Waitress

59   |    Be There for Someone When They Die

60   |    Read All the Caldecott, Newbury and Pulitzer Prize Winning Works Since 1900

61   |    Eat Sushi (Summer 2003 – CTWM)

62   |    Ride a Wild Mongolian Horse 

63   |    Visit the Vietnam Memorial…Visit Vietnam

64   |    Heckle the Guards at Buckingham Palace

65   |    Eat a Fresh Pastry on the Streets of Paris (August 2018)

66   |    Be Someone’s Hero

67   |    Grow a Fruit Tree in My Kitchen

68   |    Memorize All the Hymns

69   |    Walk Along the Giants’ Causeway

70   |    See the International Fireworks Competition in Vancouver

71   |    Teach High School in an Inner City

72   |    Invent and Market a Product (Spring 2016)

73   |    See an Original Matisse Sketch (August 2018)

74   |    Walk Ten Miles Along the Great Wall of China

75   |    Start a Non-profit Organization (April 2009)

76   |    Inspire a Poem (August 2006)

77   |    Learn to Play the Cello

78   |    Develop Enrichment Curriculum for Gifted, At-risk Middle School Students

79   |    Visit all Seven Continents

80   |    Dance on the Beach in a Red Dress and Elbow Gloves

81   |    Hatch Chicks on the Kitchen Counter

82   |    Give Away a Book of Mormon Every Year for the Rest of my Life

83   |    Learn to Read Hebrew

84   |    Go Pearl Diving

85   |    Raise a Million Dollars

86   |    See an Authentic African Masquerade

87   |    Sail on an Old Three Mast Ship – Learn the Rigging

88   |    Rope a Cow

89   |    Present a Lifetime Achievement Award

90   |    Make Out at a Drive-in Movie

91   |    Live a Whole Day with No Regrets

92   |    Christen a Boat

93   |    Write My Personal History

94   |    Make the News

95   |    Participate in a Meaningful Protest of Social Injustice

96   |    Send Someone to College Who Couldn’t Go Otherwise

97   |    Bake a Perfect Macaron

98   |    File a Patent (January 2012)

99   |    Assist a surgery

100 |    Experience poverty—and do something about it