Thursday, July 20, 2006

17 Really Cool Things I've Done Since My Diagnosis (in no particular order):

1. Became an English teacher
2. Married the kindest, cutest man in the universe
3. Was baptised by immersion
4. Became a member of a wonderful church
5. Graduated in 3 years with 2 majors (English and Political Science) and an unofficial minor (History) from a superb liberal arts school where I...
6. ...Became friends with S.J., the most dedicated and faithful friend a girl could have
7. Lived and worked in Washington D.C. for 9 months. Hated it. Learned what I valued.
8. Learned how to knit
9. Went parasailing twice
10. Roadtripped to Rhode Island by myself...there and back in 3 days!
11. Roadtripped to the Grand Canyon and Maine, and went to Europe (all with the above SJ)
12. Got an insulin pump!
13. Was able to honor my brother by speaking at his funeral and sharing what a wonderful relationship we had and what a beautiful young man he was
14. Got much-needed treatment for a prolonged depression
15. Stood up to my sixth grade teacher. She needed it. So did I.
16. Started the process of getting over my fear of failure and my insistence on perfection. Note the knitting, and the golfing (!) I did last week
17. ...I'm looking ahead here, but I'm going to think positive: finished my dissertation!

And because I like setting goals...

Some things I will do in the next 17 years...

1. Become a professor! Hopefully sooner rather than later
2. Learn to speak Spanish fluently
3. Own a home
4. Also own a home...in Spain
5. Do Karaoke
6. Be a mentor to ungraduates and graduate students
7. Honor my brother by starting some sort of program that would reflect who he was and what he valued...the details are fuzzy, but it's something I feel compelled to do
8. Learn to play the guitar

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