ten years later

While rummaging through my mounds of paper in the basement, I stumbled across a list of goals that I typed up for myself about ten years ago. It was interesting to go through the list and note how I have done fulfilling those and how my focus has, in some ways shifted and, in others, stayed the same.

Examples:

• Teach adult refugees and immigrants English - ✔

• Teach English to students with other first languages - ✔

• Teach theater to adults - no longer interested in this

• Teach youth or children 8 or older theater - ✔

• Teach English, theater or other subjects in a public alternative high school - ✔

• Open, run and teach in an alternative public high school - my former student is doing this instead. She hired me to write some of the curriculum for her school. How cool is that?

• Teach Czech - ✔

• Get a Master's Degree and a teaching certificate in ESL for middle/high school level - ✔

• Run, direct and perform in a private theater - not going this direction anymore

• Write a novel - no longer interested

• Write short stories - not on my list anymore

My greatest vision at the time was to start and run an artist community that would have a local and global component to the artists' work. This was to be a place, a center, where artists live together in a beautiful setting, share ideas and cooperate on projects.

I ended up doing this on a small scale. Many of you may still remember Community Art Share, an event I created and ran for two years during which artists from different disciplines presented their work. I enjoyed it, even got a grant to continue, but I got burned out by how much work it was for no pay.

What an interesting find. I should make a list of new goal, shove it some place, find it in another ten years, and see how I've fared.

When I shared my discovery with Tim, he said in typical Tim flat affect: "My goal ten years ago was just to surround myself by lovely people." He said this looking at Jonah and added: "I'm still deciding about you." Nice husband I have, huh?