Resolutions, Goals, and Dreams

As the beginning of a new year approaches I know we all start planning, dreaming, and resolving. Resolving to be better, to do things better and to take the necessary steps to achieve all of our biggest dreams. I am definitely a dreamer. I not only dream from December – January, but year-round and on a daily basis. And what most people would call goals or resolutions, I prefer to call them dreams.
Every year of my life from the time I could write, I’ve made a list of my dreams. Some dreams would go unattained and I would just roll them over to the next year’s list and some would get dropped (like make Leonardo di Caprio fall in love with me). Yes, that made the list the year after I watched Titanic. Don’t worry, it got crossed off soon after.
Anyways, I am definitely still making a list yet again this year, and I still have some “roll over” dreams from years past, but I thought it would be fun (and a good motivator for me) to share with you the dreams that I have actually been able to achieve in the past few years instead of the ones I am still working to achieve. It makes my heart so full and happy to realize that dreams really do come true and I’ve truly cherished every moment I’ve gotten to live out my dreams.

1. To live near my sister again.

My sister and I are very close but when I turned 15 she moved to Colorado (and I stayed in Brazil). It wasn’t until I was almost 20 years old that we got to live together again in Arizona. We were roommates all of my years attending ASU and now we only live about 20 miles from each other. I love it and we make sure to see each other at least once a week. This picture was taken 2 weeks after I moved in with her. New Year’s Eve 1999 – 2000.

2. To swim with dolphins

I started dreaming about it when I was 7 years old and we visited Sea World in Florida. It made my list every year until I was 27! That’s when Curt and I were in Puerto Vallarta for his cousin’s wedding with our best friends, Tom & Trisha. Trisha, Curt’s cousin and his aunt all came with me and it was seriously one of the coolest experiences of my life!

3. To be able to understand, read and speak English.

I am not sure when exactly this one made it on the list but I was really young. My dad bought me a book about penguins that was in English and it drove me crazy that I couldn’t read it. I’m guessing I was 6 or 7. I think I finally accomplished this one about 4 or 5 years ago and I am thankful for it every single day. This dictionary was my best friend for a loooong time.

4. To visit the Sistine Chapel.

I was in 7th grade and learning about art history. I can still see the pictures on my text book. I fell in love. I ran home and added it to my list of dreams. This one came true just this past summer. I even got a little teary-eyed when we were there and I remembered my art history teacher and the pictures on my text book. It was incredible.

5. To visit Venice.

I remember being pretty young and I was in an art gallery with my mom and there were a lot of paintings of Venice. My mom explained to me that the roads were rivers and instead of cars people owned boats. It seemed so surreal to me. It made the list and of course we visited it this last summer while in Italy. It was just like I imagined it to be as a child. And because God is so good, Curt was there to experience it with me. It was better than my dreams.

6. To ride a camel.

In my dream I would be in Egypt and then get to ride a camel in the desert. I got to ride a camel at the zoo, but I still crossed it off my list. Hey, sometimes you just have to make do with what you have. Visiting Egypt is a separate dream now

7. To live in a house.

I grew up living in hotel suites due to my dad’s job. I know, pretty sweet, if you are not a child. I had to learn to make friends pretty quickly as most of my friends would leave after only 1 or 2 weeks of staying at the hotel. If someone pretty famous was staying there, no one could come in that wasn’t a guest. Therefore my friends from school couldn’t come over. Room service is great, but it gets old fast. Trust me. Plus when you are late for school and all you really want is a glass of milk and a piece of bread… not possible. We finally moved out of the hotel, but since I grew up in the 3rd biggest city in the world, houses are not very common and usually not very convenient as far as location for my parent’s jobs so we moved into a high-rise apartment building. It was like winning the lottery for me but I had a few friends that lived in houses and I dreamed about it. How great would it be to come home and not have to wait for the elevator? I now have my very own house and I LOVE every square inch of it.

8. To graduate college with a 4.0 GPA

It’s silly to think about it now, however it was important to me at the time and I was really really happy on graduation day. And although it’s embarrassing to admit it, it’s a pretty great feeling to know people are proud of  you and I could actually see how proud my parents were.

9. To work in the hospital as a dietitian in the intensive care unit

Maybe because I put so much time, effort and money into this one, and then decided to quit my job, I often get asked if I regret it. And my answer is absolutely not. I never gave up on my dream. I worked hard for it and then enjoyed it for a full 3 years. I loved it and will always keep up my credentials, but for now I am just choosing to live out a different dream.

10. To become a wedding photographer.

Seemingly the most impossible dream of all. The one that scared me the most. Probably because I wanted it the most. I still wake up every morning and feel like I am still dreaming.