My Life List

Late one night I was looking at a feature article Nikon did on a wildlife photographer, C. S. Ling. She is amazing.  She is only 25 years old and has traveled to many , many countries and continents and photographed the most amazing animals in their natural habitat.  I was inspired by Ling to write a Life List, because of the one that she has set up on her blog. It is a list of goals or things you'd like to accomplish in your life. Kinda like a Bucket List but not focusing on death/the end, but focusing on the positive, the now, the journey in life.  I was really moved not only by her photography, but her wisdom and all of the places she's visited so far and all of the goals she's accomplished!  The idea of the Life List came from John Goddard who, interestingly majored in anthropology (and psychology) in college.  For those of you who are wondering why the fact that he majored in these two subjects is of interest to me, well because I am an anthropologist!  At the age of 15, Goddard sat down and wrote the words "Life List" and came up with 127 goals, he wanted to achieve.  To date he has accomplished 109 of those goals!


So, in short, I have compiled a Life List and have posted it below. I am not yet finished compiling my Life List, but I am going to post it here anyway.  And I suppose that is fitting for a true life list could not be final, life is changing and evolving and I know that my wants and desires for my life will change and evolve as well over time.  So for now, Here is my Current Life List that contains my goals and desires for the future and also ones that I have completed and/or am working on currently. 

My Life List

Explore/Visit

Hawaii, USA

Italy

Germany in Winter for all of the holiday markets

Anne Franks house in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Russia

Hungary

Israel

Western Mexico

Costa Rica

Honduras

Guatemala

Peru, Macchu Picchu

Grand Canyon, USA

Alaska, USA

India

Indonesia

Antarctica

Australia

Black sand beaches in Hawaii

The Swiss Alps

Auchswitz and other concentration camps, Poland

Eiffel Tower, Paris France

The Lourve

London

Athens, Greece

Japan

Great Wall of China

Great Barrier reef

Northern lights

Vancouver Canada

Toronto, Canada

Iceland

Greenland

Norway

Miami, FL

Harry Potter World in Florida

family’s historical roots in Italy

Yellowstone National park

Redwoods in CA

visit the Metropolitan Museum

Figure skate at Rockafeller Center

Visit my childhood home in Pennsylvania, and actually go inside of it

Visit World Trade Center area

Visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
Visit Williamsburg, VA

Visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homes in the Midwest

Visit 911 Pentagon Crash Site (Summer 2008) FINISHED

Ontario, Canada (Winter 1996 and 1997) FINISHED

Pyramid of the Sun and Moon, Teotihuacán, Mexico (Summer 1994) FINISHED

San Francisco, CA (November 2000) FINISHED

Seattle, WA (1997) FINISHED

Seattle, WA space needle (1997) FINISHED

Taos, New Mexico (1997) FINISHED

Albuquerque, NM (1997) FINISHED

Park City, Utah (1997) FINISHED

Great Salt Lake in SLC, Utah (1997) FINISHED

Orlando, Florida (Summer 1994) (December 2005) FINISHED

New Orleans, LA (Spring 2001) FINISHED

Cancun, MX (Spring 1992) FINISHED

Oaxaca, MX (Summer 1994) 

Veracruz, MX (Summer 1994) 

Morelos, MX (Summer 1994) FINISHED

Washington, DC  (1980s, 2002, 2008, and 2010) FINISHED

New York, NY  (December 1996) FINISHED

Empire State Building (December 1996) FINISHED

tour the White House  (June 2002) FINISHED

Puerto Rico (November 1997) FINISHED

Phosphorescent Bay, Puerto Rico (November 1997) FINISHED

El Junque Rain Forest in Puerto Rico (November 1997) FINISHED

National Anthropological Museum in Mexico FINISHED

Smithsonian Museums FINISHED

National Museum of the American Indian FINISHED

Art Institute, Chicago, IL FINISHED

Chicago, IL FINISHED

Sears Tower, Chicago, IL FINISHED

See the Pacific Ocean FINISHED

Accomplish

Figure skate on a glacier in Alaska

Sky dive

Volunteer at El Faro orphanage in Mexico

Catch another woman’s baby during labor

Adopt a baby from another country 

Learn to read and speak Hawaiian

Learn to read and speak Italian

Learn to read and speak Hebrew

Teach a college course

Dance ballet

Act in a play

Do yoga again

Run another 5K

Work at Disney World

Trace genealogy roots on father's side and mother's side

Become a successful Photojournalist

Be a morning person-- in progress (failing miserably!)

Exercise everyday of my life-- in progress (failing miserably!)Become a Photographer, in progress

Write a book- in progress

Reduce my carbon footprint by not driving so much- in progress

Own successful photography business- in progress

Become a successful Wedding photographer- in progress

Become a successful Fine Art Photographer- in progress

Run a 5K FINISHED

Become an archaeologist FINISHED

Become an anthropologist FINISHED

Have a baby, naturally, at home FINISHED

Breastfeed my child FINISHED

Ride a horse FINISHED

Gone Cliff jumping FINISHED

Gone Cave exploring FINISHED

Gone Camping FINISHED

Own a house FINISHED

Raise chickens FINISHED

Go to Disney World FINISHED

Teach figure skating FINISHED

Figure skate in central park FINISHED

Learn spanish FINISHED

Pick strawberries with my daughter like I did with my mom FINISHED

Snorkeling FINISHED

Move to the South FINISHED

Attend and graduate from Penn State University (June 1995) FINISHED

P hotograp h

tribes in Africa

Australian aborigine artwork

landscapes in New Zealand 

Egyptian Pyramids

Grand Canyon, USA

Jerusalem, Israel

penguins in the Arctic

the people and culture of the places I “Explore”

Live

Kauai, HI

at the beach for a year

Italy

Switzerland

Sweden

London

Paris

Florence

New York City

Mexico (1994)