This My Life List

I’m 40 today. I just can’t believe it. I have been on this planet for four decades! I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude and accomplishment. It feels like a miracle that I’ve made it this far.

I had this cool idea that, to celebrate this day; I’d make a list of the 40 personal accomplishments I’m most proud of. But I couldn’t think of much. I asked key people in my life about what should be on this “40 by 40 list” and they warmed my heart with answers.

The more I thought about it, I just couldn’t choose those things that make me proudest, things I got right, or that I’ve judged to be a success. When I think about my top achievements, I recognize that they are often directly related to my greatest challenges, and even what I’ve considered to be mistakes.

So I decided to write a life list; a collection of defining moments that make me me. They’re not ranked in order of importance, relevance, or significance. It’s not an exhaustive list … not even close…

1. I survived dangerous epileptic seizures as a child
2. I am the firstborn in my family
3. I was born in the hospital hallway
4. I was enrolled in school at age 2 because I’d been begging “for so long.”
5. My dad was a carpenter so he made me a special school chair
6. Even before my 5th birthday, I wrote notes to my teacher below my homework, that I now consider my first blog posts
7. I volunteered to speak in front of the class as often as I could, and now I speak in front of audiences all over the world
8. I was always the littlest – and often the youngest – in my class, but always fierce and unstoppable (even if that meant biting someone lol)
9. I started my first business, a shadow puppet theater, at age 7
10. I finished High School at age 15 as a straight-A’s student
11. I was “prescribed” with playing chess and became a champion
12. I saved up to enroll myself in English classes from ages 7 to 11, and ended up becoming an ESL teacher at age 15
13. I’ve read the Bible cover to cover many times
14. I played with tarantulas on a daily basis
15. I wrote several plays and created a drama club with my childhood friend
16. I’ve had a pet pig, turtle, chicken, mouse, dog, and cat…
17. I learned the lyrics and dance moves to every Michael Jackson song (I wanted to be a choreographer “when I grew up.”)
18. I almost drowned at 8 years old, but finally conquered my fear and learned to swim at 37
19. I forgave my mother for my childhood trauma
20. I survived missing my dad every day after my parents’ divorce
21. I failed in my attempt to end my life
22. I joined a softball league to see my dad more often
23. I always knew I didn’t belong in the slum
24. I was good at climbing trees and climbing mountains
25. I got on a fist fight with the slum bully (nicknamed “the terror”) and I won
26. I hated cooking as a child, and now I love it as a mom
27. I won first prize in a Lambada competition
28. I co-hosted an “inner-beauty pageant” at 11 years old
29. My first official job was as a receptionist for a political party
30. As a pre-teen, I had many boyfriends, sometimes at the same time
31. I tutored many of my classmates – most for money LOL
32. I wrote positive quotes, letters, poems, and songs to make money in school
33. I fetched water in the river, though I struggled to balance the huge tin can on my head
34. I had pen pals in several countries when I was in High School
35. I took showers in the rain in my underwear. It was fun, but it was also necessary.
36. I have always been a morning person
37. I am not a good singer but I always sing
38. I fell in love with my next door neighbor when we were both 13
39. I learned to type using a very old typewriter and my instructor had me type positive quotes over and over until I got them right
40. I milked a cow
41. I was baptized by immersion in the name of Jesus Christ
42. I didn’t take a scholarship to the USA because I wasn’t passionate about the career “that was available”
43. I moved to the city on my own at only 16
44. I always had a 4.0 GPA in college, despite having to walk miles and going days without food
45. I’ve been to the opera
46. I was so passionate about using the computer that I learned how to make my own out of parts
47. I had really good jobs in the city because I was bilingual
48. Then I learned Italian and became trilingual
49. I survived a brutal and nearly lethal assault, and eventually forgave the attacker
50. For a while, I hated men and openly considered myself gay
51. I survived a car accident 6 months after being raped, and was in a coma for 8 days
52. I was selected for the Work and Travel program and spent the Summer of 1999 traveling the US
53. I got a tattoo on my lower back that Summer (which I am currently getting removed) and a piercing on my tongue (which closed off by itself after a few months when I went to the dentist)
54. I rode on a roller coaster in Cedar Point with my girlfriend Laurie – and scratched up her hand and screamed her ears off
55. I went to the Niagara Falls and fell in love with raccoons there
56. I have visited 35 states and lived in 4
57. I stayed up all night at the beach and saw the sunrise the next day
58. I stayed up all night dancing – only drinking water
59. I asked a boy to be my boyfriend
60. I once owned over 200 original music CDs and they were organized in alphabetical order
61. I have ridden a horse
62. I purchased my first home before my 21st birthday
63. I got married on a Dominican beach, wearing a bikini
64. I never intended to move to the US, but through life’s unexpected plot twists, I’ve been here 15 years and even became a US Citizen
65. I never wanted to become a mom and now I love it more than anything
66. I have given birth naturally and med-free three times, and I used self-hypnosis the last time
67. I had a military ID and gave birth on base twice
68. I went to a live taping of That 70’s Show and “Fez” touched my pregnant belly
69. I learned how to sew and reupholster furniture
70. I was a single mom for 8 years
71. I paid someone $100 to teach me how to pass the driving test and got my first driver’s license at 28 years old. I no longer have fear of driving, but don’t yet fully love it
72. I worked as a paralegal and notary public to support myself and my daughters
73. I started my business by trading web design for a computer I would work on
74. I won an award for best marketer for my Web Design business and have been blessed to receive some wonderful awards since
75. I taught computer classes, web design, and digital marketing
76. I’ve designed hundreds of websites in two decades and been the strategist of many more
77. I’ve been interviewed on National Television as an expert
78. I toured the ancient Mayan ruins
79. I’ve designed dozens of logos
80. I saw a total lunar eclipse – and a blood moon
81. I’ve been on numerous podcast and radio interviews
82. I picked strawberries at a farm while I was pregnant
83. My articles have been published on major publications
84. I’ve been featured on print media internationally, too
85. I went to a Boston Red Sox spring training game and met Pedro Martinez and Big Papi
86. I’ve written countless posts on my blog and as a guest blogger
87. I went on a helicopter ride with a friend I love
88. I’ve published books and helped others publish theirs
89. I survived cancerous cysts on my ovary and eventually gave birth to Eliana, even though I thought it couldn’t be possible
90. I survived domestic violence and use my experience to help other women
91. I’ve traveled to foreign countries in Europe and South America
92. I’ve been parasailing
93. I stood in two states at once (Arizona and Nevada)
94. I’ve read hundreds of non-fiction books and plan to read as many more as I can
95. I went snorkeling
96. I’ve collaborated with masters like Jay Conrad Levinson, Brian Tracy, Jack Canfield, Les Brown, and Brendon Burchard…
97. I have coached and mentored hundreds of moms worldwide
98. I pet a stingray, a penguin, a dolphin, a shark, a baby alligator, a scorpion, a bat, and several snakes
99. I walked on fire
100. I visited the Sears Tower, Golden Gate Bridge, the Hoover Dam, the Twin Towers, and the Empire State.
101. I hosted my kids’ birthday parties even though I was completely terrified
102. I’ve walked the entire Vegas strip
103. I once slept under the stars at the beach in Puerto Plata
104. I’ve told my story to give a voice to others who don’t feel like they have a voice or are scared to use it
105. I married my true love in the Temple (after a painful first try)
106. My idea of the perfect date is taking a nap on the grass outside a mall in Chicago (thank you Taylor Bare!)
107. I became vegan, inspired by my daughter
108. I’ve hugged countless people everywhere
109. I breastfed each of my three daughters for over a year, and two of them at the same time
110. I’ve been on a hot air balloon
111. I found my purpose – and made it profitable for myself and others
112. I’ve flown first class – often
113. I’ve washed cloth diapers thousands of times
114. I got my hearing checked – and it was fine, despite the fact I thought I was somewhat deaf
115. I’ve been in a drive-in movie theater
116. I went through laser hair removal – and it didn’t really work
117. I consistently enjoy tithing, volunteering, donating my time, skills, and money, and paying my blessings and the love of God forward in other people’s lives
118. I created a non-profit organization for moms
119. I’ve been in a submarine
120. I’ve been to Disneyland and Disney World dozens of times… and aboard the Disney Cruise!
121. I’ve seen the Northern Lights
122. I’ve practiced yoga, done zumba, and even tried poleaerobics
123. I am very blessed to have long-lasting friendships with the most amazing people you can think of (Ivan, Carolina, Martin, Esther…)
124. I took my daughters on an airboat ride through the everglades and we were surrounded by alligators
125. I learned how to ride a bike in the church parking lot when I was 36
126. I’ve gotten picked up at the airport by a limo service with my last name on a sign
127. I spent a whole day writing naked in a hotel room in Sanibel Island
128. I helped my family travel to the US
129. I did a voice over on the Walt Disney Animations recording booth
130. I had chiropractic treatment
131. I’ve taken cross-country road trips and have loved it
132. I have been to cool concerts
133. I recycle, and I strive to be conscious of my environmental impact
134. I’m a speed reader and can type over 50 wpm
135. I have been to a movie premiere and on the Hollywood Red Carpet
136. I sponsored a child
137. I got reading glasses “because of my age”
138. I now have 3 gray hairs on my head
139. I am back in college (after a 15 year break!)
140. Did I mention that I turned 40 at 7:30 this a.m.?

It’s been a true gift to reflect on the little slices of life that these 40 years represent. It’s been a wild ride of ups and downs, of joys and sorrows, of abundance and lack, of adventures and nightmares, and I am grateful for all of it, because no matter where I am, God and the love of the people in my life have sustained me and inspired me to grow, learn, and progress… and that’s the purpose of life.

What’s on your life list? Share some of the moments in your life that make it an worthwhile experience. I celebrate you… and I love you, too!

[ela]