My dreams.

I've been very blessed to accomplish a lot of my dreams at a young age. I wanted to travel- I've lived in Romania, China, Ghana, Czech Republic, and I'm going to Guatemala this summer. Not to mention all the places I've been blessed to visit. I wanted to fight poverty and do international aid work- I volunteered in all of those places and did the best I could to help people. I wanted to learn to play musical instruments- I play the flute, piano, and I'm finally taking a guitar class. I wanted to work in DC- I did for 18 months. I wanted to graduate from college- I have a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Florida. I want to get a master's and PhD- I'm applying to grad school right now. I wanted to learn to play various sports- I do. I wanted to learn to swing dance- I did. Still want to learn how to do ballroom and that other stuff- that's still in the makings. I wanted to take voice lessons- Colleen is giving me lessons free this semester. I wanted to dance on the 50-yard line of a football field- I did when I was 19. I wanted to climb a mountain- I climbed one in China (a small one). I wanted to visit every continent- I've lived on 4 different continents and hope to hit my 5th this summer. I wanted to be in more than one place at once- I visited four corners and was in four places at once. I wanted to contribute a major research paper- my undergraduate thesis was practically a dissertation. I wanted to learn another language- I speak Czech. What else? Mmm... I have so many dreams!

Dreams not accomplished yet- I want to write a song. I want to write a book. I want to go to the Olympics. I want to swim with dolphins. I want to go to an opera- a major one. I went to one in Beijing but it wasn't quite the same as the European opera idea I have in my head. I want to see a Broadway play on Broadway. I want to go to the Holy Land. I'm dying to see India. I still wouldn't mind learning how to belly dance- what a great work out! I want to take a yoga class. I want to learn Spanish and French. I really want to learn how to play the violin. I really want to kiss someone on the Eiffel tower. I wouldn't mind climbing the Statue of Liberty. I want to discover something of significance and benefit to the human race. I want to attend a General Conference session in the conference center. I want to play the guitar and sing on the mall in DC. I want to build a snowman with someone I love. I want to go on a date in Park City and drink hot-chocolate or cider and just walk and laugh- maybe throw in a snowball fight. I want to stay the night in one of those cute little houses in Key West. I want to sleep in a castle. I want to go to Ireland. I want to work with hospice victims. I want to save a life- in some way. I want to have FHE with my family every week. I want to get good at riding horses. I want to spend a night sleeping in a hammock. I really wouldn't mind learning how to scuba dive. I want to read "the classics" of literature. I'm not very well-read. I want to be in a play. I want to run for some kind of office someday. I want to lobby on capital hill. I want to see Rome. I want to see the world- ALL of it! I want to raise a family that likes to sing and dance. I want to get good at cooking international dishes. I want to walk a European cobblestone road with my future husband. I want to raise my kids in a foreign country- not sure of the details- but I want them to at least spend part of their lives growing up somewhere else- at least every summer. I want to raise my kids speaking another language. I want to be constantly volunteering. I want to attend a protest or rally- for something I really believe in. I want to hold a really, really old book, or artifact, or work of art. I want to see the Louvre. I want to go on a walk with someone I love, get lost, and not care. I want to invent something...

That list could go on for hours. But in all truthfulness- I could die a content woman without accomplishing most of those, if not all of those. Now let me tell you what I want most in my life. I want to do good. I want to have a family. I want to spiritually progress and do it together with my husband. I want to get married in the temple. I want to raise my kids knowing above all else that I love them and their Father in Heaven loves them. I want to work every day to strengthen my eternal family and work together with them to keep the Gospel at the center of our lives. Honestly, the best experience of my life was my mission. What I wouldn't give to spend the rest of my life going on missions- teaching the Gospel, helping the poor, watching as people miraculously change their lives as they become intimately acquainted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I just want to live every day building the kingdom of God through service and charitty and doing it with those I love. Anything else is just a nice addition.