I made a bucket list a few months ago when I was listless and spending most of my time daydreaming about all the things I want to do in the future. It's always tough, saying "someday". It's cliché, but you always regret the things you never got around to doing. Here's my bucket list, or a reminder of my hopes, no matter how out-there they may seem.
1) Walk the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
2) Take a self-defense class
3) Run a marathon
4) See Petra (Jordan)
5) Get a PhD
6) Teach
7) See the Great Pyramids
8) Explore every inch of the Louvre
9) Learn a second (or third) language fluently
10) Participate in a volunteer program abroad
11) Learn to scuba dive
12) Maintain a strong relationship with my siblings/parents
13) Ride a mule into the Grand Canyon
14) Go to a nude beach
15) Learn to drive a motorcycle
16) Be able to quote from Star Wars
17) Learn to tango
18) Participate in Burning Man
19) Photography
20) Go camping on Assateague Island
21) Read all of Vonnegut's works
22) Live in NYC
23) Be a journalist
24) Go horseback riding
25) Read the newspaper (or parts of it) every day
26) Keep a daily journal
27) Be comfortable with who I am
28) Publish a book
29) Be someone's mentor
30) Go back to playing the violin
31) Camp in Yellowstone
32) Drive across the U.S. (and back)
33) Visit the Forbidden City (Beijing)
34) Visit the Winchester Mystery House
35) Learn to sew my own clothes
36) Volunteer regularly at a nursing home
37) Drink wine along the Seine
38) See the ball drop in Times Square
39) Explore a ghost town
40) Visit the Catacombs of Sicily
41) Have boudoir photos taken
42) Visit a (renowned) psychic
43) Take a gourmet cooking class
44) Only patronize local restaurants when traveling
45) Participate in a historical reenactment
46) Go skinny dipping in a gorge
47) Go spelunking
48) See the Northern Lights
49) Visit the Red Fort in India
50) Backpack around southeast Asia
The list is harder to make than one may think.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Hello and Welcome to My Mind
I tried to start a blog last year. I think I made it up to 12 posts over the course of 8 months. My intentions were noble: I was moving far away from most of my friends and family and wanted to use the blog to stay in touch. But when I would actually sit in front of the computer to write an entry, I came up blank.
When I was a teenager (16-17) I had an online journal that I was able to use as a creative outlet. I wrote in it daily, for probably a year. Of course, even though that was a mere 7 or 8 years ago, technology has changed; I have changed. When I was 16 I didn't think about who may be reading what I wrote at the time, let alone the impact my words could have years later. I was, in a way, uninhibited by my future self, a luxury that I don't have today. Today I not only write for the person I am now, but also for the person I may be one month, two months, a year from now. I want all of my blog posts to be inspiring, little works of genius that exhibit my potential as a writer/human. This new blog is an attempt to let go of that (mostly) and truly share my life with others.
Hence the title, Uninhibited Existence. But this title is appropriate for me in another sense, as well. In certain instances it reflects who I wish to be -- someone uninhibited by society, themselves, others -- but can't quite achieve. I know I do live largely the way I please, but I am tethered, to a certain extent, by my love, my means, and my own fears and sense of control. At times I wonder what it would by like if I had no attachments and could just flit from place to place, experiencing anything and everything the world offers. So this is my space to reflect, share, and to dream.
Now, the introduction. I always hated introducing myself; icebreakers are my enemy. Introductions always sound so sterile... or should I say my introductions always sound sterile. It's always name, current occupation, fun little fact. For instance, my name is Karin. I'm a grad student, studying anthropology. I grew up in Pennsylvania, but am now living, studying, and loving in Belgium.
Welcome to my mind.
When I was a teenager (16-17) I had an online journal that I was able to use as a creative outlet. I wrote in it daily, for probably a year. Of course, even though that was a mere 7 or 8 years ago, technology has changed; I have changed. When I was 16 I didn't think about who may be reading what I wrote at the time, let alone the impact my words could have years later. I was, in a way, uninhibited by my future self, a luxury that I don't have today. Today I not only write for the person I am now, but also for the person I may be one month, two months, a year from now. I want all of my blog posts to be inspiring, little works of genius that exhibit my potential as a writer/human. This new blog is an attempt to let go of that (mostly) and truly share my life with others.
Hence the title, Uninhibited Existence. But this title is appropriate for me in another sense, as well. In certain instances it reflects who I wish to be -- someone uninhibited by society, themselves, others -- but can't quite achieve. I know I do live largely the way I please, but I am tethered, to a certain extent, by my love, my means, and my own fears and sense of control. At times I wonder what it would by like if I had no attachments and could just flit from place to place, experiencing anything and everything the world offers. So this is my space to reflect, share, and to dream.
Now, the introduction. I always hated introducing myself; icebreakers are my enemy. Introductions always sound so sterile... or should I say my introductions always sound sterile. It's always name, current occupation, fun little fact. For instance, my name is Karin. I'm a grad student, studying anthropology. I grew up in Pennsylvania, but am now living, studying, and loving in Belgium.
Welcome to my mind.
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