Now What?

Being only sixteen without a job or a diploma just quite yet, I’d say a majority of the things on my list are (sadly) out of reach for now. Right now a big focus of mine is #59 on my list, owning my own vehicle. I desperately want to own my own vehicle so that I can have some independance. Once I start working full time (which I hope is very soon), I will be saving almost everything that I’m making so that in the fall I can purchase a decent vehicle. My goal is to save aroun $5000 with (hopefully) a little cash from grad and my birthday to contribute. I think that for the most part this is something that I can absolutely do, as long as I commit to saving. I don’t think it will be too hard because ultimately what it comes down to is weighing my options. Do I want this cute shirt? or do I want to take the city bus in yet another Winnipeg winter? Overall I’m very excited by the thought of checking #59 off my list and I think it’s very possible. As for the other things on my list my hopes are to accomplish all of those too.

Authors Note

All my life I’ve wanted to go out and experience things around the world, so it’s safe to say that coming up with a list of 50+ things I want to do before I die wasn’t exactly challenging. When making my list I tried to think of absolutely everything I felt I needed to experience throughout my life so that when I’m old and dying, I can know that that I did it all. I started off with the smaller stuff like #12: Own a house, #19: Fly in a plane, #18: Take a road trip etc. and then I started to really think. I personally have always had the desire to travel and I’ve also always had a love or animals, so a lot of the things I want to do before I die revolve around those things. The main thing that doing this project has done for me is show me that anything you want, whether it be hug a koala bear like #3 on my list or skydive, it’s all 100% possible. I feel like nowadays we get so caught up in our everyday lives that we forget how to think outside the box and have somehow turned dreams into this unattainable fairytale. If four average guys from British Columbia can snack into the Playboy Mansion and play ball with the president, then why can’t you? Make a list. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. What do you want to do before you die? 

61 things I want to do before I die

1.  Swim in the ocean 
2. Volunteer at an animal shelter
3. Hug a koala bear
4. Travel to California
5. Go on an African Safari
6. Get a tattoo
7. Go to the Calgary Zoo
8. Swim with dolphins
9. Travel to Las Vegas
10. Pet an elephant
11. Put a lock on the Ha’penny bridge in Dublin with someone I love
12. Own a house 
13. Run in Colour Me Rad
14. Plant a tree and watch it grow
15. Shop in New York
16. Donate blood
17. Have a career that allows me to help people
18. Take a road trip
19. Fly in a plane
20. Travel to Greece
21. Skinny Dip
22. Cuddle with a baby tiger
23. Win something
24. Kayak as the sunrises
25. Get backstage passes for a concert
26. Join a dance class 
27. Build a treehouse 
28. Ride in a limo
29. Travel to Barcelona
30. Eat pizza in Italy
31. See a shark 
32. Join a pole fitness class
33. Go to a VIP movie theatre
34. Travel to Arizona 
35. Spend a whole pay check on myself
36. Play with a monkey
37. Go on a cruise
38. Live somewhere other than Winnipeg
39. Feed a giraffe
40. Learn French
41. Go on a hot air balloon ride
42. Spend Christmas somewhere without snow
43. Go to the biggest water park in the world
44. Stay in an overwater bungalow
45. Drink wine in a different country
46. Attend a huge music festival
47. Eat in an underwater restaurant
48. Be in the audience of an Ellen Degeneres show
49. Stand at the top of the Eiffel Tower 
50. Have children
51. Travel to Hollywood
52. See a polar bear in their natural habitat
53. Travel to Australia
54. Go to Thermëa
55. Witness an animal giving birth
56. Ride on an elephant
57. Be a bridesmaid 
58. Get married 
59. Own my own vehicle
60. Meet someone famous
61. Learn to surf 

6 word memoir (6)

 

Growing up me and my family didn’t always get along. We went through a lot of issues but have finally come to the point where we’re all close. This photo was taken on my birthday at the Forks and to be honest it’s probably one of the only happy family photos we’ve taken in awhile (missing Carly). I’ve definetly learned over time that ever family has their own problems and through learning that I’ve realized how much I appreciate the family that I do have. 

6 word memoir (5)

 
About 9 months ago I met my boyfriend Adam and since then I’ve been a different person (in a good way). I chose the words “find love and never let go” because I think love is not only such an important thing but I think it’s beneficial. Being in a relationship can teach you things about yourself that you might not have known before. I can honestly say that he is my bestfriend and my rock and I wouldn’t trade him for the world. In my opinion if you’re lucky enough to find love, whether it be with someone or in something such as music, never let it go. 

6 word memoir (4)

 

I tried to think about myself and what I was doing after highschool and I really couldn’t come up with anything. All I kept thinking was that I’m graduating and I’ll only be 16 years old, what am I going to do? Despite the fact that I can literally do anything I want and as excited as I am to leave high school and step into the real world, I almost feel scared. It’s a confusing thing to work towards a goal that you’re so excited to achieve but when the time comes around you aren’t ready! I feel as though all I’ve been asking myself lately is “ok, what now?”, which is why I made this 6 word memoir.

6 word memoir (3)

 
In this photo is a picture of my great grandma on her birthday last year. I chose the quote I did because about 3 years ago she got really sick Throughout my whole life she was always the one who stood up for me and supported me in whatever I wanted to do. It wasn’t until she got sick that I really started to hold onto every memory I could of her. Even as bad as I’d seen her, she still made the effort to make a joke that somehow had the whole room laughing.  Although I don’t get to see her nearly as much as I’d like to, I’m still so grateful that she’s still here because she means the world to me.

6 word memoir (2)

 

I don’t think I could have chosen a better picture of the two of us to go with these words. being only a month apart and knowing eachother since we were babies, Kaylan really was and is more than a best friend to me, she’s like a sister. I chose to edit the picture a bit and make it faded because it is an old picture. I also really liked the font and thought it fit well with the theme.

6 word memoir (1)

 

I think this picture goes with the words “can’t wait to watch you grow” because in the photo I’m physically looking at her. I love this particular photo of the two of us because she had been laughing hysterically with me 2 seconds before she noticed a camera and I can’t wait to have more memories with her like that. I chose to keep the lettering and the size of the font fairly simple because I wanted the picture to have more meaning than the words did. I also chose the font that I did because it was plain but also a little fun. 

Short Story: Remembered

It’s 4am when I’m jolted out of bed in a panic. My heart is beating so fast it feels like it might jump out of my chest. I climb out of bed and stumble down the hall of my tiny apartment and enter the bathroom. I brace myself on the sink and splash my face with cold water. I look up at myself in the mirror to see my dirty blonde hair matted against my face. I try and process what had just happened. It felt like… a memory… of myself.
I was in a white dress with a gold heart shaped locket around my neck. Holding my hand was a man who had a strong jawline and short brown hair. We were laughing and in the distance was a little girl about the age of seven, with long blonde hair like my own. She runs towards us and tugs on my arm. “Mom look what I found!” as she smiles and hands me a dandelion, “make a wish” and that’s when I had woken up. I climbed back into bed trying to calm myself down, it just felt so real. I tossed and turned until my alarm went off and I had to get ready for work.
I walked into work and was immediately comforted by the smell of new books and happy buyers. I had since tried to push my morning events out of my head and was happy to spend the day stocking shelves. It was closer to 10 o’clock when I noticed out of the corner of my eye a man walking towards me.
“Excuse me, uh Lauren, could you help me find something”. I turn towards him only to stumble backward in shock. It was the man from my dream and peering behind him was the little girl.”I’m James and this is Rebecca” he said.
“How, uhm, how do you know my name?” I mutter. The man smiled and pointed politely to my name tag. The little girl came out from behind him which is when I noticed the same gold heart shaped locket from my dream around her neck. As I snapped out of it I realized I had been touching my own neck.
“Sorry” I say “what book were you looking for?”
“Uhm I was wondering if you had any books on memory loss”. Memory loss?? “Uh, ya for sure, follow me,” I say and walk towards the back of the store, the whole time feeling their eyes watching me. “Here you are,” I say and quickly hurry away. When I looked back I wasn’t shocked to find them staring at me with the same hopeful look they had given me when I first spoke to them. Who were they? What did they want?
Throughout the whole week I continued to have vivid dreams of James and Rebecca and I just couldn’t figure out why. I layed in my queen size bed while staring at the light blue wall in front of me. My room was pretty bare, a bed with a dark wood frame and on the far right side, a dresser to match. I got lonely sometimes, no friends, no family, no memory of ever having any either. I decided I didn’t want to waste my day sulking in bed and went to get some coffee. As I entered the two story shop, my senses were immediately soothed by the calming sense of coffee. I walked up the flight of stairs and waited in line to order. My eyes glanced to the patio where I noticed James and Rebecca. I panicked and turned the other way, too late I thought, they had already seen me. As I tried to make a quick escape back down the stairs I lost my balance and slipped. I fell down the stairs hitting my head and knocking me unconscious. As I lie there all these memories suddenly started flooding my brain. They were coming in snapshots all too fast. They were memories of James and Rebecca, and me…. us holding hands and kissing and laughing and making breakfast together and oh my god, an accident. I had been in a car accident. I had woken up and forgotten about everyone I had loved. James had bought me the apartment to live in because I didn’t know who they were. I suddenly opened my eyes to see half a dozen people trying to help me up. Beside me was James and Rebecca holding my hand.
“James!” I scream and wrap my arms around his neck. He hugs me back and I feel him sobbing against my neck. “We missed you so much,” he cried. “Mom?” a shaky whisper asks. I pull her in too. I can’t believe I had forgotten them, my family. James explained that it had been almost a year since the accident and that they had tried to help me remember as much as they could but it hadn’t helped. I hugged my family close to me, and was so thankful that I finally remembered.