lianika’s journey

~The chronicles of an American born/Panamanian bred 
ESL teaching; globe-trekking; Chinese learning; book-addicted; self-proclaimed cupcake connoisseur entering the world of thirtydom and trying to figure it all out.~

~Scroll down for the most current posts~

 

A few days ago, while fumbling through some old papers I came across this list. “100 Things To Do Before I Die.”  It was part of some senior year project.  I haven’t looked at it or thought about it since then.  Yet, I was surprised to see that I have completed about ¼ of the list (not bad). I highlighted the completed ones.  If I really work on completing it, could I eventually check them all off?  I wonder?

 

 

1.     Have my own business

2.     Adopt two children                             

3.     Become a Regular Pioneer

4.     Serve as a Needgreater

5.     Aide someone in the truth

6.     Attend an International Convention (Budapest, 2003)

7.     Read the Proclaimers Book in its entirety

8.     Read the Insight Books in its entirety (1/2 way through volume 1)

9.      Speak &/or read Japanese or Chinese

10. Read all the books on the Cliff Notes list (20 down 164 to go)

11.  Take sister to India

12.   Teach someone how to read

13.   Watch a Bollywood movie in Mumbai

14.    Learn to Tango

15.    Publish a book

16.    Article published in Newsweek

17.    Visit Dublin, Ireland

18.     Go Whale watching

19.      Float in the Dead Sea

20.   Hike Mount Kilimanjaro

21. Photograph Marrakech, Morocco

22.  Soak in the Blue Lagoon, Iceland

23. Explore Canyon de Chelly, Arizona

24.  Run the NYC Marathon

25.  Hike Machu Piccu, Peru

26.  Experience the Aurora lights

27.  Trek in Nepal

28.  Take up Pilates

29.  Swim in a  Master's Competition

30.  Swim the English Channel

31.  Class with Elie Wiesel

32.  Iceskate in Central Park

33.  See Laurence Fishburne on stage

34.  See John Malkovich on stage

35.  See Handel's Messiah

36.  Hike Copper Canyon

37.  Tour Auschwitz Concentration Camp

38.  See Hamlet on stage

39.  Conversation with a Holocaust Survivor

40.  Conversation with a Civil Rights Activist

41.  Take voice lessons

42. Meal by a Master Chef

43.  Learn how to make really good lasagna

44.  Live in another country (at least one year)

45. Tour a slavery plantation

46.  My own religious pilgrimage

47.  Read every work by the Harlem Renaissance writers

48.  Walk the Great Wall of China

49.  Ride the San Francisco Cable car

50.  Learn how to think like Da Vinci

51.  Tour Amazon rainforest

52.  Swim with dolphins

53.  Attend the Opening Games of the Olympics

54.  Write my will

55.   Drive on the Autobahn

56.  Take Mom to Paris

57.  Overcome my claustrophobia

58.  Set foot on all seven continents

59.  Live without TV for a year (did it before, need to do it again)

60.  Walk to the top of the Eiffel Tower

61.  Go to the airport with passport & suitcase-pick a flight and just go!

62.  See Niagara Falls

63.  Learn how to play the cello

64.  Bungee jump-never again

65.  Ride the world's highest roller coaster

66.  Hike the Alps

67.  Plant a tree

68.  Help build a Kingdom Hall

69.  Complete a triathlon

70.  Shave all my hair off

71.  Read Bible in the order written

72.  Go wine-tasting

73. Find a job that I love

74.  Go to Liechtenstein

75.  Stay up all night and watch the sunrise

76.  Track my family lineage

77.  Walk the Brooklyn Bridge

78.  Visit New Orleans

79.  See the Diego Rivera Mural in Mexico City

80.  Get over my fear of skiing

81.  Complete an ultra marathon

82.  Have dinner with Paulo Coehlo

83.  Ride a rollercoaster 5x consecutively

84.  Read the Qur’an

85.  Take a self defense class

86.  Take a massage course

87.  Improve my photography skillz

88.  See the Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo

89.  Learn how to make great cupcakes

90.  Go to a blacksand beach

91.  Treat parents to a first-class trip anywhere they want to go

92.  Attend an Assembly Hall dedication

93.  Attend a Bethel Branch dedication.

94.  Write a thank you letter to my favorite teacher

95.  Write a letter to everyone I love.                

96.  Cross a country on a bicycle.

97.  See an opera in Italy

98.  Dance to La vie en Rose in Paris

99.  Explore the West Africa slave trade route.

100. Have a huge party and invite EVERYONE I know!!!

 

 

~Thirty life lessons I've learned by thirty~

(& the people who've shared these lessons with me)

 

30. Learn the balance between striving to be more and being content with where you are. (Em)

29.  Never confuse age with wisdom.  There are brilliant 20 year olds and ditzy 49 year olds. (Bonnie)

28.  Don't judge a man by what he has, but how he lives.  (Sonia)

27.  Never rate how well you're doing by how bad someone else is doing.  (Allen)

26.  Just because someone's views are different doesn't make them any less spiritual, intelligent, mature, etc. (Jo)

25.  Everyone in your life is not meant to be there forever.  Just treasure that time with them and move on. (Jonathan)

24.  It's better to be single than stuck.  (A married woman who opts to remain anonymous)

23.  Love doesn't come in a certain shade.  If you find someone who loves you & you love them, who cares what anyone else has to say!  (Caveat-if a guy is intrigued with you simply because you're Black, Asian, Hispanic, etc. walk RUN!) (Cheryl)

22.  It's impossible to compliment a child too much.  Always tell children how wonderful they are.  They need to hear it and they'll remember it.  (Tim)

21.  Complimenting another woman doesn't make you less attractive.  Encourage appreciation, not competition. (Mom)

20.  Sanity is overrated. (the voices)

19.  Surround yourself with positive energy. (Nisi)

18.Never talk yourself into liking someone.  If the connection isn't there, it never will be.  (Em)

17.  It doesn't matter if you marry a millionare, have a skill so you can take care of yourself.  Men treat you differently when they know you have the capability to leave.  (Mom)

 16.  To aspire to be a "kept woman" it is to aspire to be prostitute. (Tia)

15.  People may dislike you simply because you're a reflection of the wrong decision they made.  Don't gloat that you chose a wiser path, but don't apologize for it either. (Sammy)

14.  Never lend money you con't afford to lose. (Tia G.)

13.  "Songs in the Key of Life" really is the best album ever made. (Mom)

12.  Don't take other people's joy. 

11. Whenever you have a gut feeling to visit someone, follow that feeling.  Chances are you're just the person they need to see. (Helen)

10.  You may never have a supermodel's body, but that's not reason not to work what you've got.  (LaVera)

9.  Always humble yourself before God has to do it for you.  (Mom)

8.  Spiritually, live as if this system will end tomorrow.  Financially, live as if this system will last another hundred years. (Penny)

7.  Travel. Go see that there's more to the world than where you're from.  (Dad)

6.  Remember the mountains.  Then you'll always put your problems in the proper perspective.  (Papa Sitka, while we we were hiking the Alps)

5.  Always be proud of who you are and where you came from (Tia Luz)

4.  Never try to walk to the beat of someone else's drum.  (James)

3.  At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks.  It's between you and the Sovereign.

2.  Never leave God.  When a person leaves God, they lose everything they were ever hoping to find. (Mike)

1.  No one has to understand why you do what you do.  Just DO YOU.  (Sammy)