Because. I am an Oldest Child.

....and oldest children make lists. More than they write essays and make speeches on how their younger siblings' behavior can and should be improved (my younger siblings are pretty great, this was simply an analogy. I don't spend an inordinate amount of time doing this.)


All that to say, prepare for a list. Because that's what I'm fixing to present you with. As I recently turned 16, and I thought that I'd make a list of goals for this year in my life. Come my 17th birthday (if I've held true to this blog) I'll go back to it and be either enormously encouraged, or erroneously disappointed in the completion (or lack thereof) of my goals.


Got it? I hope so, because I'm going need someone to explain it to me.


Anyway, here goes:

• Get my permit, learn to drive. Who knows, maybe even get my license! (I can hear the cynics laughing. Whatever.)

• Survive Chemistry. I think I'll just tune out all the horror stories now, I have an imagination of my own thank you very much.

• Improve my handwriting. It tends to be illegible, and even though we are living in an age of digital typing and such and so on, I personally want to keep the ability to write on my own. And handwritten letters are pretty much one of those ageless joys, like homemade apple pie. Only less fattening.

• Read at least 5 books that aren't assigned. It feels strange to say this, but my bookwormish-ness had died quite a bit because all my reading time is exhausted with assigned reading.

• Invent the 36-hour day. I must do this. It needs to happen. But I've tried...oh well, guess it's back to the ol' drawing board.

• Keep up on current events. And form educated opinions on them. And always remember...civil discourse!!!

• Refresh any skills I ever had on the piano and memorize songs that I can play almost anywhere.

• Gain at least a cursory knowledge of Spanish.

• Learn to speak Latin.

• Put an appreciable amount of my earnings in my savings. Not Charming Charlie's.

• Ace (all things being relative) the PSAT, the SAT...or both.

• Keep my life and my room tidier. Also...make more lists!