Been There, Done That, Have a T-Shirt

I started a goal list when I was seven years old.  I remember being so eager to travel because of my aunt and uncle's life.  His Navy career took he and his family overseas.  My cousin attended high school in Italy and brought back t-shirts for my brother and I that said, "Roma." Since one of us misplaced one, we naturally fought over this t-shirt for years.

I wanted my own foreign experiences and to learn languages.  So my parents encouraged me to start a list of things I wanted from life. I wrote it in my very best cursive with my favorite purple ink pen. My goal list grew year by year, starting out with simple things like..."Drive a boat, learn how to make ice cream, see it snow on Christmas"

I understood from a young age that I would be very busy in my life if I wanted to complete my goals. Today, I take this list out every so often and add to it, cross some things off, and it brings light to how important things were at times to me in my life. Often times it has brought me back to my roots. It is encouraging to be able to take the list out and check some off from time-to-time.

Ultimately, the point of these postings are not just a casual side project. I want to use it as a tool and a reminder of the importance of accomplishing arguably the biggest dream I have on my list...and the best part is that it has been on there since day one when I made the list seventeen years ago.

My major goal on the list still remains the same.  I want to see and hike some of the largest mountains in the world Something has always drawn me to them. Volcanic, glacial, snowy, evergreen. Every mountain just begs me to draw closer.

Why climb?  Mountaineer George Mallory had the answer:

"Because it's there."

Eight-year-old me driving a boat (with my feet of course)