the right attitude is everything

with less than 2 hours of being a twentysomething, i feel strangely wistful about the number of candles on my cake. on one hand i am thankful the decade is behind me. yet, being the goal-oriented person that i am, i feel i need to start back a level 0, evaluate where i've been and see what roads i need to travel this decade.

something that i wish i had done on my 20th birthday is write a list of what's floating around in my head at the time -- school, work, love, likes, dislikes, a mental "state of my union" address. so my friends, let's start with the 30-year plan:

things to do
visit italy
go to every art museum in europe
live in new england
live in north carolina
volunteer for an animal shelter
take part in a pro-choice rally
create one great masterpiece
go to grad school
have sex on a beach
sleep under the stars and not get eaten alive
inspire one woman to dream she can be more than a baby machine
smackdown a religious fanatic with a good ol'can of whoop ass
own a vacation home
destroy all credit cards!

things to learn
learn to be more tolerant of others (i know. it doesn't quite make sense seeing how i want to whoop up on a nun, but really, it's all about finding balance.)
learn to kiss these last fucking 20 lbs of fat cells goodbye
learn to love myself even if the fat cells stay (i am beginning to think my thighs are rent-controlled)
learn to be patient
learn to be a nicer goat
learn to save more, spend less
learn to find more joy and less complaints in the mundane
learn to become a better writer

things i value most
friends
family
creativity
fairness
pushing the envelope
personal growth/openness
animals as teachers

things i believe we would all be better off without
gw
dead-eye dick
religion
stupid people
south dakota's abortion laws

greatest loves in my life
my hubby
my sadie and chloe
my family
my friends
strong coffee
fiona apple
ani difranco
reading laurie notaro and laughing so hard i can't catch my breath
making something out of nothing
organizing
strengthening my writing voice

who knows what the next 10 years will bring but my very first goal is to love every moment of it.