This is an actual list that exists. I just counted, and there are 25 items I listed on it. I know that you can see a couple of things that I wrote down, but no I won’t be sharing the list in its entirety. I simply want to share how and why this list has been on my mind.

There’s a little bit of everything on here – things to cook, to do, to make – places to go, to see – experiences to live – moments to enjoy. Some of them I can manufacture in order to check them off, and others I will have to wait and see if they ever come to be. There are somewhere between 8-10 of them that could happen this year, and two are even already in the works and on the calendar.

Some of them are specifically for me – things to accomplish, goals to meet, even a couple of experiences that I think I want privately. When I’m asked about things I’ve done in life, there are answers I want to be able to give. I can’t wait until I can provide some of these examples about what can be done in life, including what can be done individually, to my friends, my family, my kids, their friends, etc. We have to be individual before we can be a healthy part of a group… or at least based on what I’ve learned, anyway.

A couple of them I need somebody else with me to accomplish them, which is one of the reasons I won’t produce the list itself. I want these moments, if they ever happen, to be organic. As silly as it sounds, I remember always wanting to be kissed in the rain because it looked so wonderful in the movies. I can tell you that I have no idea what else I did the day that I received my first smooch in the elements, but the owner of the other set of lips had no idea how long I had daydreamed about it. He had no idea what that little moment meant to me. I’m still a silly romantic and hope for those kinds of experiences, so I figured I might as well put a few of those on my list.

There are things I want to learn, things I want to cook, things I want to write, things I want to create. I don’t want to ever be okay with who, what, or where I am in life. If everything worth doing is what I’ve already done, then where is the excitement for tomorrow? I may not be good at everything I try, but I was reminded yesterday that you have to take chances in life sometimes. That’s exactly what I intend to do.

I have experienced moments so far that have done everything from scar my heart to invoke tears of joy. If you have been following along over the last few months, you are likely familiar with some of each. While there are none of these moments that I would go back and change, I can still hope for new moments to experience. Changing my history would change my today… and my today is something that I am rather fond of regardless of the journey. With that in mind, I still hope for more… more laughs, more memories, more stories, more adventures. I look forward to experiencing what I haven’t yet experienced. I don’t ever want my life to feel as though it has gone stale.

I cannot wait to watch the rest of my life unfold. I didn’t write out this list to dictate what I require from life between now and my last day. I wrote it out with optimism that the best really is yet to come. I want to impact what I can, pass down what I can, and live what I can. These 25 items give me goals to be working towards and dreams to be shaping.

My hope when I started this blog was to chronicle my journey forward even though I did take time to go back and set the stage. I can’t wait to share with you when I get to cross items off of my list. I will do my best when that happens to let you feel what it was like, to hear the sounds that surrounded me, and to smell the beauty of the moment.

Life is to be celebrated. There’s so much gloom and despair in the world. We need to free ourselves, to lighten our load, to experience what leaves us in awe. I hope that you’ve got something that you’re moving towards… and I hope it’s something worthy to be on your secret list!