Life Goals

Someone once asked me what were the things I wanted to accomplish in my life before I got hitched? I didn’t understand the question at all, not being able to fathom how aspirations could be put on a timeline falling under Single or Married status, that they would have to be necessarily crossed off when I tied the knot. My construct of goals doesn’t lend itself to answer the inquiry the way you’re expecting, I had responded, and she got really mad and wouldn’t talk to me for the rest of the day. Maybe I had overthought her question, instead of simply replying, “Get wild on Spring Break and hook up with a tattooed sailor.”

I’m also reminded of the time in middle school when I had to compose an essay about my life objectives. My mom read the draft and mocked me because I had written that I wanted to win both the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Journalism. I could say I was twelve and she was thirty eight and so she knew more about the ways of the world than I did. Or I could say I was twelve and she was thirty eight so I still had not suffered heavy disappointments which can burden your desires.

I am twenty four now and have experienced defeats and disillusionment. My mother does know more about the ways of the world, and she is still exponentially more practical. Yet here are some of my dreams anyway:

The short list:
- start a publishing company for underrepresented voices in literature
- run my own hostel/bookstore/cafe on a semi-secluded tropical beach
- be an international human rights lawyer (particularly Latin America/American Indian indigenous rights)
- be a leading expert on the ancient Maya
- write a novel
- host a show on National Geographic
- fluency in four or more languages

Notice I do not include falling in love, getting married, and having children on there. This is because, while fine enough goals for some, they are not something I feel I need to pursue. I know some women who have their wedding theme, colors, and flower arrangements picked out despite not even dating anyone or who have a schedule in their minds for what age they intend to be when these things occur. Personally I feel that these things will transpire, if it at all, in the way life happens to you regardless of your plans for it. As far as material possessions are concerned, such as fancy cars, giant mansions, or private jet planes, they don't even make the long list, and I pray they never will. Oh and I have a life goal of not ever tying sweatshirts or sweaters around my shoulders. Unless you're a Vanderbilt or Rockefeller and was dressed that way since birth, the sight generally makes my stomach turn.