reflecting on 25 years of life

or, what have i done with a quarter century?!?!

i have attended 6 schools for a grand total of 22 years.
i have had 9 jobs ranging from sandwich artist to recording artist (um, well, at least i helped record books for the blind!)
i have been in a total of 13 countries.
i have been to 39 states.
i have lived in 5 places for longer than 3 months.
i have owned 3 cars.
i have learned to count to 10 in 7 languages and have formally studied 6 languages (some of those two things don't overlap).
i have been sung to in english, spanish, german, hindi, bulgarian, polish, latin, greek, hebrew, malay, chinese, japanese, french and many african languages.
i have been the aunt to the two cutest doggies in the world.
i have owned one cat.
i have played games, jokes, the piano, the flute, the french horn and innocent.
i have read thousands of books.
i have watched thousands of movies.
i have slept too much and not nearly enough.
i have been in and out and in debt again and again.
i have two degrees thus far and am edging closer to two more.
i have had 5 roommates and 1 honorary roommate.
i have hosted 3 super bowl parties and loads of other kinds of parties.
i have spooned, forked ... have i knifed? don't know if i'm that fast.
i have seen the beauty of the open prairie, the majestic mountain, the immense sea, the dense rain forest.
i have slept in my own bed, on the ground, under the stars, in tents, in planes, in cars, in cabins, in dorm rooms, in a waterbed and in church (maybe, just once).
i have ridden tricycles, bicycles, motorcycles, horses, an elephant and i'm pretty sure a camel.
i have had countless crushes.
i have written hundreds of poems.
i have painted a score of canvases.
i have hoped.
i have wished.
i have prayed.
i have been disappointed.
i have been inspired.
i have been in awe.
i have laughed.
i have cried.
i have laughed so hard i cried.
i have made innumerable friends around the country and the world.
i have loved my mother, father, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmothers, grandfathers and all the greats, seconds, and in-laws in between.
i have been part of soccer, tee-ball, softball and swim teams.
i have been in gymnastics, dance and art classes.
i have had one friend for 20 years, who even though is a stuffed wrinkle dog, is a very real presence in my life.
i have waxed and waned in my relationship to God but never disbelieved.
i have told many, many stories.
i have played not nearly enough jokes.
i have written hundreds of pages.
i have forgotten a lot of details.
i have cut myself, burned myself, bruised myself, scarred myself, broken myself.
i have been quick-witted and slow on the uptake.
i have had more shoes than one person needs in a lifetime.
i have been told i've made a difference in someone's life.
i have had so many people make a difference in mine.
i have lived approximately 9,131.05497 days. or, 219,145.319 hours. or, 13,148,719.2 minutes. or, 788,923,149 seconds. (i don't think leap days have been figured into this. not sure...)
i have so much more to remember.

overall, i am pleased with where i have been, what i have done, who i've experienced.
thank you to all who are part this list; my past, present and future; my life.
here's to adding more years and making more lists and doing the things that make life worthwhile!