Bucket List

So Oldest Daughter has a new goal. Study her junior year at a conservatory in England--all year. And then spend a semester in Pau, France, also studying abroad through an exchange program at her school. These are phenomenal goals. And I thought back to college, and frankly, I didn't have the guts to just decide to leave my life here and go away for a whole year, without being able to come home and see my family.

I was afraid.

Fear has such power, doesn't it? It can make you not send out your manuscript. It can hold you back from your goals. It can keep you from telling that special someone you're in love with them UNTIL they've told YOU. Fear of rejection, right? It can keep us from careers we want. From scaling mountains.

Baby Girl wants to climb Kilamanjaro. She also has the foresight to, when she dies, want her ashes scattered from a mountain peak. Yes, she's 10 and thinks of these things.

I want her to be fearless. Go ahead and climb the mountain.

So it got me thinking about my Bucket List (from the movie) . . . those things I want to do before I die. I want to go here. But beyond that, my list isn't very long. Of course, I'd love to run off with him. I mean, he's on the list. But most things I want to do and study and experience, I have. And those I haven't . . . I have too.

That's the blessing of being a writer. If I want to travel abroad, I do--as a character. If I want to try my hand at fighting crime . . . get to do that. Be a doctor? Sure. Be a singer? Have you heard my voice? But HER voice . . . sublime.

So tell me, how does being a writer affect your list . . . and what makes YOUR Bucket List?