twenty.one

last year on my birthday i made a post of 20 goals i wanted to accomplish while i was 20 years old.
Today being the eve of my 21st birthday i decided i wanted to look back on those goals in preparation for my 21 spanking new ones i will start for tomorrow. well, here they are, and my own interpretations of whether or i not i feel like i achieved them.

1. build a tree house. fail, :( this goal didn't really even get a fair chance to be started. I'll keep it in mind for next year... pretty sad to start off my list of goals with the first one being a failure!


2. feel life in my bones. Now this one is pretty ironic. i definitely feel like this year i have felt life in my bones through my successes, i have felt no life in my bones as i slipped into despair for a few weeks, and i have felt the life reenter my bones as i have picked up the pieces and became stronger.


3. see potential in everyone. i worked hard on this goal this year. I deem it a success.


4. finish the books i've started and read heaps of others. i started and finished loads of good books this year. however, sadly, i have still yet to finish one book that i had already started at the time i wrote this goal and had forgotten about it til now, renewed determination to finish that book... check.


5. leave places better then i found them. In Jerusalem, I left my mark in every sacred place i could think of... i wrote a note to myself at that moment in time, (copied it into my journal so i wouldn't forget it) promised myself that i would continue to grow and never forget whatever lesson i had learned at that sacred spot. Then i either buried the note, lodged it in a tree, tucked it among the millions in the western wall, so on and so forth in all the spots that meant something to me. so, goal complete. i left those places better than i found them. Originally when i wrote this goal, i had in mind to leave the place itself better than when i found it. however, it turns out that instead i, myself, had left better than i was when i had found that place.


6. love people... happy, weird, sincere, intelligent, curious, genuine, awkward and even make-believe people. This is kind of a funny goal, but one i took to heart this year. It wasn't easy for me. To love others with my whole heart, let people in who could potentially hurt me, but i did it! I loved people. i do  love people. and it turns out, the ones i was afraid of loving for fear of them hurting me, didn't hurt as bad as i had once thought. even after things didn't work out the way i had originally planned. because i learned something from each of the people i loved, and i am a better person now for loving them. even if they are completely out of my life right now, i love them. i will always love them. it is definitely better to love, than it is to let fear keep you from giving your whole heart.


7. find joy in the small things. joy. what a wonderful word. three letters that spread your lips into a smile when you feel it. i definitely found joy in the small things this year. 


8. meet new people that teach me more about myself than anything else could. another goal i feel like i accomplished this year. i met TONS of new people this year. for a simple example i met 80 new friends from the jerusalem center. 80 best friends i will never forget. nor will i forget the lessons they taught me. i could probably list off each one by name right now and tell you specifically what i learned from their example. what they taught me about myself. how i have changed for the better from their words and love.


9. go camping YES! This is one of the goals i had forgotten i made until i saw it today. good thing i have good friends who decide to drag me to jackson hole wyoming in a half hours notice to spend the weekend under the stars and rafting the snake river. josh, ryan, blake, i'm still amazed we didn't hit that cow... or that deer. but am sure glad we checked this goal off of my 20s bucket list.


10. discover uncommon heroes. discovered a few uncommon heroes. but more importantly i rediscovered one major one. My own mother. my mom is my hero, and this year i really discovered how wonderfully she is and why i'm so lucky to have her as my mom.


11. get a bicycle. good old burgundy. he was a smooth ride. (currently residing in josh's basement) bought him from a slightly delusional lady from craigslist who insisted she pick me up from school and take me to her bike garage. I still can't believe i got into that car. but am so glad she gave me burgundy, and she became a strange friend.


12. learn to carve on my snowboard. boo freaking ya. big C taught me how to carve this year. and to prove it, we even got to demonstrate my hard achieved abilities in aspen for a weekend with my sister jaime and her family. you better believe i carved it up in the best powder known to man. think my calves are still a little sore from that february weekend.


13. celebrate diversity. i definitely got to celebrate diversity this year. being immersed in new cultures in turkey, jordan, and israel. palestinian and israeli neighborhoods. celebrated it in the streets. celebrated it in new friends. celebrated it in strangers.


14. start a non-profit. not this year. but i have some ideas rolling in my head. however, my ideas are a little more down to earth, a little less far stretched. I think there is a lot to be done here in the community around me before i can spread my wings and save africa. so that's where i will start :).


15. improve my photography skills. definitely have improved them this year. want to see? one of my favorite photos i took this whole year:: jewish man reading the torah and asking for change on the streets of jerusalem.

16. feel the grass on my toes as the wind rushes through my hair on a regular basis. drink the wild air. yes, again, another cautious goal i had this year. i drank all the wild air i could find. i let the wind do it's worst in my hair. maybe not as much grass on my toes as i would have liked, but paved streets and less traveled paths satisfied my needs this year.


17. be a hero. i guess i'll never know if this goal was achieved. but i know it will be on my list year after year for the rest of my life, so i hope one day to have it marked off.


18. gain knowledge. and lots of it. i think it is a safe bet to assume i passed off this goal. i graduated in december with my Bachelor's degree. i hope i gained knowledge. i dare say i hope i gained LOTS of it.


19. become a better writer. i worked and worked on this goal. (even though you may not be able to tell on this post, with all my jumbled thoughts) However, i do feel like i am more able to express what i want to say in words far better than i could in years prior. so check check check.


20. change the world. i've taken this one day at a time. one person at a time. one experience at a time. one day the total sum of these events may make one practically unnoticeable difference, but you best bet that i will be very pleased when that day finally arrives. 


there ya have it.
20 years i have been alive.
that is a long time when you really think about it.
two decades worth. 
let's see where the 21st year takes me. 
cheers to adventure! it is written, life is wonderful. again.