When I was in my early twenties, I made a list on the zero day project. This is a site that inspires you to create a list of 101 goals to be accomplished in 1001 days. This really appealed to me at the time because I was young and optimistic and could do anything.

I have no idea how those goals went. Other than one goal that I had marked “private,” I don’t even remember what I was aspiring to do. Even that one is a cloud of a ghost of a nebulous memory. I do know that at some point, I deleted the entire list and replaced it with two goals: Get an A in each semester of Anatomy & Physiology.

I do remember that I accomplished those goals. So when I happened across this relic of my former life, I marked those goals complete and was instantly inspired to start anew. Maybe I’m no longer optimistic and young. But then again, maybe I am. I have a feeling that what made me optimistic and young was the very act of dreaming up goals and believing that I could make it happen.

The thing about 101 goals in 1001 days is that it gives me a chance to work towards things. Will I close my rings every day? No, but maybe I can do it 500 times in this time frame. Will I actually write a book? I can’t say yet, but 1001 days is enough to find out if it will happen.

I’ve only listed 95 goals so far, but I started working toward them almost 2 months ago. I have no doubt the 6 stragglers will join us soon.

This blog is my account of this journey. So many of the goals are things that will take time. Some are boring – I’m going to floss 909 times, y’all! Some will have their moments: Completing Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way should yield some interesting and wholly bloggable moments. And some, I will be so busy enjoying and experiencing that they will probably only be blogged about months after the fact: If I get to do that transatlantic cruise, it may be as a reward for accomplishing the rest.

If no one reads this, it’s fine. I do hope someone finds something interesting and maybe inspiring here. When I got stuck making my list, I searched for others’ lists to get ideas, so maybe it will serve that purpose. If nothing else, I have a pretty record of not just the photographic journey (if that were enough, I could just look at instagram), but the thoughts and growth cultivated during this adventure.

Life is meant to be an adventure, and not just when we’re 23.

Adventure & Travel

1. Swim with manatees and snorkel in 3 Sisters Spring
2. Visit our friends in Oregon Completed 10/5-9 2023
3. Visit Cloudland Canyon
4. Visit Providence Canyon
5. Visit Cumberland Island
6. Visit Helen, GA
7. Visit 30 Atlas Obscura Places [2/30]
8. Visit and learn about 30 Georgia State Historical Markers
9. Do the Athens Walk of Fame
10. Attend 3 Bigfoot-Related Events
11. Visit Congaree National Park
12. Visit the Grand Canyon
13. Visit friend in Rio
14. Observe an election in Eastern Europe
15. Go on a transatlantic cruise
16. Visit at least one additional National Park other than those listed

Brain Stuff

1. Get to level C2 in Spanish
2. Take violin lessons
3. Read 101 Books
4. Read Selected Writings of Mahatma Gandhi

Building Grit

1. Complete the 75 Hard Challenge
2. Limit social media use to 2 days per month [1/30]

Community & Social Health

1. Make 30 new meaningful connections IRL
2. Volunteer 101 hours [2
3. Lasagna Love: Make and deliver 30 lasagnas
4. Become a penpal to a senior citizen
5. Perform 303 Random Acts of Kindness for people I know
6. Perform 101 Random Acts of Kindness for strangers
7. Attend 50% of any parent social events for Firefly

Family

1. Eat dinner together at the table (or the lake) 6 days per week 808 days
2. Make a family cookbook
3. Create seasonal family bucket lists and do as many things from the lists as we can each season (10 times)
4. Go on 30 pre-planned date nights (without the kids)
5. Go on 30 “dates” with each kid
6. Play Mini-Golf together
7. Learn 10 new card games together as a family (both learning new together and sharing ones we knew as kids with the new generation)

Just for Fun

1. Get three new tattoos
2. Go to Jeju
3. See the trolls at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens
4. Watch a Bollywood film
5. Send something to Post Secret
6. Create an inspo board for this list Completed approx 7/20/23
7. Pierce my ears
8. Pull Tarot Cards for friends and include meaningful interpretations 10 times
9. Complete 30 1SE Months
10. Plant pretty plants around the mailbox Completed approx 7/25/23
11. Create a Board Game
12. Make a photo book of my 101 favorite photos
13. Brew my own Kombucha
14. Go Sky Diving
15. Go to a David Sedaris reading

Mental & Spiritual Health (see also: volunteer work)

1. List 2002 things I’m grateful for
2. Pull tarot cards and journal about them 30 times
3. Develop a meditation practice by day 101
4. Complete the Coursera Science of Wellbeing class
5. Have an Akashic record reading Completed 8/3/23

Nature Love

1. Observe 101 Species in iNat; submit research-grade photos
2. Care for a Bonsai
3. Watch a Solar Eclipse
4. Complete 30 Seek Challenges
5. Join a Community Garden
6. Have the yard certified as a Wildlife Habitat

Other things that fit nowhere else

1. Pay library fines
2. Take a First Aid class with the kids

Physical Health

1. Do 1001 Sun Salutations (cross-post to Mental & Spiritual Health)
2. Complete a 5K run
3. Complete 15 30-day challenges
4. Close my rings 500 times
5. Paddle Board 30 times
6. Maintain VO2 Max at above average for 101 days
7. Address medical concerns with a PCP
8. Complete Lupus Testing Completed on 7/20/23
9. [private goal]
10. [private goal]
11. Get a pap smear
12. Attend my teeth cleanings every time
13. Floss 909 Times
14. Get my teeth whitened
15. Develop a pedicure routine and follow it for 101 weeks
16. Create nighttime and daytime skincare routines and follow them for 909 days

Vocation & Creation

1. Complete the Coursera Write Your First Novel course
2. Write a book
3. Publish a short story
4. Apply to 3 Grad. programs
5. Create a positive and enjoyable learning experience in the co-op classes that I teach, measurable by observation of high and/or increased engagement
6. Complete The Artist’s Way
7. Placeholder for a goal about my gardens
8. Finish & Send out Fall 2023 Syllabi Completed 8/23/23
9. Finish & Send out Spring 2024 Syllabi