Life List Update

Now that summer classes are officially over, I have a glorious amount of time on my hands. As in, I read 4 books in the last 8 days. On weeks where I don't have any assigned reading I'm like a racehorse bursting out of a starting gate. That is, if the starting gate were a book. And the race was a relaxing evening with a blanket and tea. Then it's a perfect simile. With all this time, I will be writing a bunch more blogs, which is something that I look forward to. The best advice I keep reminding myself is that "A good writer writes. A good writer writes." Simple as that. As I write more for this blog, I also organize it more. I've collected a whole handful more of experiences for my life list--my ever-growing, sentient list. Here they are: (the bolded ones are ones that I've already done--my list serves as a challenge and as a reminder.)

Work on a house with Habitat for Humanity
Learn and perform the Thriller dance
Read everything by Ralph Waldo Emerson (How am I a fourth year university student and never read anything by him before?!?)
Attend a large music festival such as Lollapalooza/Coachella/Sasquatch
Memorize USA state geography
Watch the Cirque de Soliel perform
Go around the world and find my own personal 7 wonders
Meet Sol
Memorize the flag for every country
Start a compost
Go white water rafting
Get a Eurorail pass
Ride in a hot air balloon
Get in a fight (I just finished Fight Club. Sue me.) (Do people still use the term "sue me?" Is that still a thing?)
Catch someone reading a book I wrote
Climb the Grand Canyon
Throw a surprise party for someone
Graffiti something
Start a dance in a public place
Be in a parade
Take in and appreciate a busker
Be a completely different person in a different city
Help someone cross something off their own life list
Be on tv, a magazine, the front page of a newspaper
Kill something and eat it
Make a list of everything I own
Have something/someone named after me
Pay for someone's groceries
Actually make a tangible New Year's resolution and keep it

And two more that are a little more dear to my heart:
1. Give a TED talk. The second this came into my mind my heart started racing. I have spent countless hours being inspired by different TED talks, and it would be a serious achievement if I could every cross this off. Some of the things on my list I take more seriously than others (as in, if I died before memorizing the US state geography I wouldn't need to come back as a ghost to avenge myself). Not to say that if I die before doing a TED talk I would be disappointed, it would just be really really cool, that's all.

2. Perform a spoken word poem in front of a large audience. The reason why this is dear to my heart is because a) it achieves my childhood dream of making poetry cool again and b) I'm crossing it off today! Well sort of. I showed my pastor my video from the last post and he said that he wanted to include it in a Sunday service. A part of me really wanted to do it live, but I'm still really jazzed about getting the to opportunity to show it for all 3 services this Sunday. While I'm not sure whether I can technically cross this one off as I'm not performing it live, it's still right up there. I hope that this is a day that I can look back on as the first of many opportunities like this.

(Fun fact: I didn't realize it at the time, but my last blog post was my 150th post, as well as my 10,000th view. Considering how long I waited to post it, it's cool that it just worked out like that. Coincidences are fun! Also side note, if you have a blog/tumblr/whatever they've come out with now, could you link to my video? I'm still working on getting it out there and the more links there are to it, the higher up it goes on Google search-- this is the one thing that I learnt in Computer Science 1000.)

Life List Commentary Numero One

Those of you who know me know that I love lists: this is not a secret fact. Honestly it doesn’t even matter what is on the list, just as long as it is there and I can read it, I will most likely love it. Bonus points if I actually get to cross something off on it. I have thrown out hundreds of papers filled with lists that I wrote down for the sole purpose of crossing each item off to feel that euphoric sense of accomplishment. For those of you who get this feeling, I don’t need to explain it, and for those of you who don’t, my words won’t change that. I have wasted countless hours reading every single Best of/Worst of list on the internet. Lists are the reason that my sisters could sucker me in to watching the Pre-Oscar Red Carpet commentaries and they are also the reason why I am desperate to see the nominations of any award show ever. December is one of my favourite months because the Internet is flooded with lists that simplifying the year into that orderly formation of 1 to 10.

Yet, I’ve still never really liked David Letterman. Strange.

Now enter the Life List. I started this list some time around Grade 9. It began with a small to do list that eventually evolved into what is now a living, breathing record of my life. Some people say that lists are binding and limiting, but for me this thing is freeing. I control it and it guides me, really just a win win win situation all around. It has changed quite a lot over the years and I have found different versions of it scattered throughout all my different journals and writings, and it will continue to grow and alter as the years change. I used to feel guilty about adding or removing things but I realized that that’s not really the point. The point is for me to remember things that I have been passionate about and to attempt to incorporate them into my life as best I can. I try to be working towards at least one item on the list at any given time and there are few things better in this world than getting that oh-so-satisfying feeling of placing a profound, thick line through each word.

My latest accomplishment on this list has been present since my original list in Gr. 9 and has been a dream of mine ever since: to conduct a band. As many of you know I am working towards my Bachelor of Education degree and I got to experience my first practicum this year. I was placed with a teacher who taught Zoology, Science, Sports Enrichment, and Japanese, all classes that I am very passionate about. Not! (Though I definitely did gain a new appreciation for Japanese. And I can say I now know how to dissect anything from a pregnant frog to a rabbit to a crayfish. But still, these are not my passions.) Hours of science classes drove me to seek out the music department at the school and ask if they needed any help. To my great surprise the band director not only let me play with his band but immediately agreed to allow me to conduct one of the pieces in the Christmas concert. Pretty trusting considering he did not even ask me whether I have any conducting experience at all (which, frankly, I don’t, unless you count the numerous hours I have spent waving my imaginary baton in the air to the blaring sounds of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture since the ripe old age of 4).

Skip forward three months. After lots of overtime practice hours, plenty of daily air conducting, and tons of stifled nerves, I found myself walking up to the platform to conduct a soothing rendition of Silver Bells. I had a plan.

Step 1: Don’t trip going up to the stage.

Step 2: Don’t start at the wrong tempo.

Step 3: Smile

Step 4: Don’t drop the baton.

Step 5: End at the same time.

Step 6: Don’t trip getting off the stage.

As long as I could master those six things, I was good to go. And, to my great relief, I did. It wasn’t the Philharmonic Orchestra and it wasn’t the Apollo Theater (really it was quite the opposite) but it was cool and something I’ve wanted to do ever since my father gave me my first air baton (yup, he was there right beside me conducting the final crescendo of the overture). And, with the way things are looking with my Music minor potentially down the drain (due to lame registration timings) it may be the first and last opportunity I ever get, which makes it that much more special.

So here’s to placing a solid, fulfilling line through #28: Conduct a Band.

To end, I leave you with an uncannily accurate portrayal of Little Michael (I blame it on the uniformity of mushroom cuts.) PS: If you don’t want to watch the whole thing you get the main gist after the first minute.

Also, while writing this post I’ve been listening to the 1812 Overture over and over again. If you have not actually heard this song (or at least the finale), then listen to it here, and I dare you not to raise your hands in triumphant conducting glory.

Special thanks to Sarah V and her mom for the pics.