Quote of the day...er...week...umm...hey, look, a quote!!

"...besides love, independence of thought is the greatest gift an adult can give a child." - Bryce Courtenay, The Power of One

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Thursday, February 21, 2008

If wishes were fishes...

Do you remember when you were a kid and the grown-ups would ask you what you wanted to be when you grew up?

I remember wanting to ride show-jumpers, be a competetive swimmer of some sort, or a dancer, a teacher, a doctor, a shrink of some variety, a writer, a singer, a jockey, an actress, a model (hah!), an advice columnist, a forest ranger, a marine biologist, and any number of things. Mostly things that involved nature, creativity, or healing. Hmm.

Now that I'm supposedly grown-up, I still have things I want to be. Or at least do.

I have always wanted to scuba dive. I've swum, snorkeled, and sailed, but I've never been scuba diving. I love the deep water, I've just never had the time or money to go learn and be certified - and now I can add a distinct lack of confidence in my physicality to the list of "why not?" Still, I hope to manage this one in the not-too-distant future.

I would love to sky dive, while we're on the subject of diving. Deep water, open sky, same-same. Sky diving looks so free...this one may not ever happen, but a gal can dream.

I think learning to fly would be fun, too. Or maybe to operate one of those glider thingies - you know, the ones they tow behind an airplane and then release to float back to earth?

I'd love to brush up on my sailing skills - for all I talk about sailing as a kid, it's been several decades since I actually did it, and I'm afraid that only bit of it I can still do with any confidence is the knot tying...you never forget how to tie a good knot, and it's always a useful skill to have.

I've often wished I could ride a horse at something faster than a canter. I never did, and riding is something else I haven't done in a long while. I'd like to own a horse, but I'd have to re-learn how to care for the beasts. They eat pickles, right?

I'd like to go to Alaska. I don't know if I'm hearty enough to live there, but it'd be nice to visit some of the less touristy bits and take a million or so pictures.

Speaking of visiting places - Australia and New Zealand would be nice, too. And, umm...let's see...Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, and a number of the United States that I've missed in all my travels. I like wild places, rugged places, places where nature still has a presence. I also like places with history, where pieces of humanity are still standing long after the people are gone. Following the Roman wall through Paris would be one of the few reasons I ever went back to that city.

Visiting the sacred spaces of the world would be brilliant, too.

I've been hot-air ballooning, and would like to do it again - this time without garnering the back injury that still plagues me some fifteen or so years later.

I'd like to go back to school, if I could just go and learn without having to declare a major or worry about grades. I'd really like to root around in some of the sciences a bit more - chemistry, physics, and quantum physics mostly, although biology, geology, and a number of other -ologies would be fun, too. I can read books aplenty (and I do) but having a proper teacher to ask questions of, to explain the many, many, many bits I don't quite get, would be tremendous.

I'd also like to study more art, more history, more everything.

Also, winning the lottery would be nice. Oh, the things I'd do...

And while I am wishing things up...heh...I'd really like to not only finish a story/book/whatever the hell I'm writing, but maybe even manage to get the dang thing published. Sigh.

Well, if wishes were fishes, beggars would eat.

What do you wish you could be or do, grown up or not?

5 comments:

foolery said...

This sounds like a post, to me. I don't know if I'm up for it today, but I'll give it some thought.

And the difference between scuba diving and sky diving is that while we CAN swim our way out of a descent, we can't FLY our way out. That fact forever keeps my butt out of a parachute harness.

Mamma Schmoo said...

I wish that I could ride a roller coaster. I have never been on one. I came back from Disney World in December and will be going again in May. I really wish I could get over that fear and sit my fat ass on a coaster. I hear it is the shit. Unfortunately that is precisely what I am afraid I will do!

Michelle Roebuck said...

I wish there was a way to get a true handle on all the knowledge there is to be had. I'm not saying I want to know everything (I thought I did when I was younger and that disappointment still hasn't faded); I just want to not feel like I know too little about the world.

Kyddryn said...

I'll be watching for it, Foolery - I bet you have some doozies! And, umm...who says we can't fly? Just because there's some theory about gravity...gee, whiz...
~~~~~
Mama Schmoo, I used to be afraid of roller coasters, too - so what did I do? I went to Six Flags and rode every single one they had. I warned the operators they might need some Crisco and a pry-bar to get my arse out, but there's an upside to being a big girl - some of those things, I was wedged in so tight there was no way I was falling out!! I had fun...and they weren't all that scary once I was on 'em. There was the earth beneath me, there was the sky above me, and there was I between them, just like always. Of course, this was before those hanging-by-your-arms ones where your feet dangle down. Probably not gonna happen. I have this mental picture of me looking like a pair of pressed hams and two overstuffed blue sausages, from below!

I hope one day you ride a coaster, just to show your fear who's boss.
~~~~~
Gypsy, girl, you've already made a dent in the knowledge of the world - it's OK to leave a little for the rest of us!!

Kit said...

I keep meaning to come comment on this! There are SO many things I've wanted to do over time- as a child I wanted to be a vet, an artist, an actress (ha), someone who rides horses in shows (I never got far enough with that dream to even find out what they are called, LOL), a professional baker, a teacher, an archaeologist (THAT one lasted until I tried to excavate a broken pot in a kit and put it back together- then I decided that maybe it was much harder than I'd imagined!), an herbalist/wholistic practitioner, an antique dealer and yes, a mom. . . I had a wide range of interests.

Now I still have a solid list of wishes: I'd still love to ride horses again, and learn to ride well. I'd like to be a published writer. It would be nice to get back to making art, and possibly showing/selling it too. I want to TRAVEL. I would like to live in the country, have an extensive garden and raise goats (yes, really). I want to ride the motorcycle with Billy again. It could be cool to run a book store/coffee shop/art gallery/antique store. . . uh, OK maybe not. I wish I could through-hike the Appalachian Trail. And of course, I want to be a great mom. There's probably more. :)

Oh, and I LOVE roller coasters. And I'd love to try skydiving.