Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes. Year 21 was the craziest chapter of my life story, the majority of it taking place in France. I loved reading the messages and texts from people I've known from Edmonton and those I got to know in other cities and countries.
Celebrating the big day at home for the first time since I was 20 years old, I created a list of goals. Some of them are for this year, others will take time. I can't wait for this crazy roller coaster to continue, and hope you all are a part of the journey! Without further adieu, here are the goals:
1.
Develop a new passion or hobby. Maybe take up
learning another language or painting or something different (and fun) to
invest time into.
2.
Try making as many new friends as possible
without initially asking the questions, “Where do you go to school,” and,
“Where do you work.” I feel like sometimes the focus is a bit too much on what
a person is as opposed to who a person is.
3.
Interview Taylor Swift. At a café. Without
sweating profusely. It going well. And for for her to call the next day
wanting to interview me.
4.
$2,500 in scholarships and a 4.0 this year at
school. Simple enough, no?
5.
Back in December I wrote a very critical and
aggressive article on MacEwan University. I learned a ton from both the writing
of the post and the subsequent fallout, including that it was actually
discussed in class by some of my former journalism professors as part of
journalism lessons, something I consider an enormous complement, even though
I’m certain they weren’t raving over my prose (though apparently I was compared
to Ray Romano. Attractive wife, daughter, twin boys, and writing about sports
for a living? I’ll take it!).
The goal: write something else just as impactful, with as much punch and power, that gets talked about and circulated just as much if not more than that article on MacEwan University. Hit another homerun. It’d be pretty cool to hear that another article of mine was being discussed in an academic setting and to stir that type of reaction, debate, and emotion again. Having already been through a minor media firestorm, I would definitely be more prepared and embrace the situation more.
The goal: write something else just as impactful, with as much punch and power, that gets talked about and circulated just as much if not more than that article on MacEwan University. Hit another homerun. It’d be pretty cool to hear that another article of mine was being discussed in an academic setting and to stir that type of reaction, debate, and emotion again. Having already been through a minor media firestorm, I would definitely be more prepared and embrace the situation more.
6.
Be in a position both financially and
professionally where a return to Europe is a VERY real, legitimate possibility for summer 2015.
7.
$10 000 saved up by the time I graduate from
Concordia University in Montreal (three years from now).
8.
Join a rec or intramurals team at Concordia
University. Any sport, be it dodgeball or soccer or hockey, as long as it is
active and with a team.
9.
Leave Edmonton looking like a professional journalist;
come back to Edmonton looking like a professional hockey player. Eat healthy,
get fit.
10. Never be completely clean shaven in my
entire life ever again.
11. Volunteer
somewhere once a week. I’m thinking a place like Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
It’d be great to make a new friend and have a direct impact in someone’s life.
I’ve always wanted an older brother for myself; if I can’t find one, the least
I can do is be one for someone else.
12. Continue
my streak of not working for free. So far I’ve been able to
earn consistent money for all media jobs I have had. Obviously there are
certain opportunities that I would jump at (CBC’s six week internship in
London, England being a prime example), but it would really take a lot for me
to work for free in North America. I feel like clippings are overvalued compared to other skills/tools, and the thirst for portfolio material often leads to unnecessary contributions to websites or news sources that ultimately lead to nowhere tangible.
13. Eventually
find a nice lady and settle in one city and have a family of my own. It seems
impossible that at one point, I won’t value travel and adventure and living in
different places, but that time will come.
14. Earn
five concrete employment offers, each with a starting salary of at least $50
000, upon graduating from university.
15. Start
a charitable or benevolent endeavor using my skills and education. Change the
world in a positive way, using the power of communications and journalism.
16. Habiter,
travailler, jouer, découvrir, et profiter les villes de London et New York
City. Translation: Continue taking risks and living aggressively.
17. See
the Rolling Stones play live.
18. Have
my Maddy Bowen moment. Report from Gaza or Syria/Sierra Leone/Afghanistan/Abu Dhabi on a human rights issue (and live to tell the tale!).
19. Have
a pint with George Clooney.
20. Become
a better logical thinker. Learn to solve Sudoku puzzles and Rubics cubes. That’s
definitely something I can improve on.
21. Lots of people helped me get to Montreal and Paris, and I would love the chance to do the same for someone else. If anyone needs someone to talk to or bounce ideas off, I'm game. It'd be pretty cool to help someone out in getting what they want out of life.
22. The cliches! Have some more fun, smile more, laugh more, stress less, and continue
leaving it all out there.
