I’ve Lived a Sheltered Life
I’ve lived a sheltered life. Not in the virgin ears, good girl kind of way. I mean, I haven’t DONE anything. I haven’t EXPERIENCED anything. At the rate I’m going, when I get old, I won’t have any stories to tell my grandkids.
I was raised an only child and always surrounded by ‘grownups’, so I don’t have any mischievous childhood stories. I grew up poor, so we didn’t really take vacations. Going ‘down south’ was hardly a vacay. I became a mom at an early age, so I had to grow up and mature quickly. Since then, I’ve always been responsible and focused.
My goals used to consist of “when I earn $____, I want to drive ____ car and live in ____ house.” It all sounds pretty silly to me now. Over the years, I’ve yearned to do something exciting and daring. These days, my goals are focused on obtaining financial independence to enjoy life beyond the limits of ‘home’ and allow my BabyGirl to experience things I only dreamed of as a child.
In no particular order, here are a few things I’d like to ‘experience’ in the next 5 years:
1. Fourteen day European vacation.
2. Live abroad for 1 year to experience another culture.
3. Take a gourmet cooking class.
4. Attend a wine tasting/learn to select a good wine.
5. Learn to ski and ice skate.
6. Attend my BabyGirl’s college high school graduation.
7. Visit the Motherland.
8. Go scuba diving and deep sea fishing.
9. Go mountain climbing.
10. Help build a Habitat for Humanities house.
I am learning that life is about experiences, not STUFF, which is why I’m on a debt reduction rampage. So keep that in mind when you consider applying for another loan or credit card. The ‘things’ you buy might give you a temporary thrill, but the debt is causing you to live a sheltered life – the kind where being a virgin is not source of pride.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Work to achieve, not to acquire.
And as always, BE FABULOUS!
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You are so right sis about the experiences and not the Stuff..I’ll be 30 years old next year and I have been struggling with the decision of going back to school full time and quitting my job ( sound familiar ? )
The fear of doing this – along with the fear of leaving this boring job and taking a huge pay cut to do something i enjoy – has crippled me !
Im so happy for you and Im sure you will accomplish everything you want to !
I totally agree! Recently did a few of those myself (though the 14 day European vaca didn’t help with the debt – Euros are EXPENSIVE!)
I highly reccomend the Scuba though – after years of thinking about it, I finally went and got Scuba Certified. Now I can dive almost anywhere. But taking the class helped me realize there are a zillion things out there that I can learn how to do… right in my own back yard!
You go girl!
Ummm when you go to europe – we can go together
I’m going rock climbing again in a few weeks – if you game holla
they have wine tastings every fri & sat at the winery by my home.. – holla if u want to go.. I’ll give you details.. its a great start before spending money on a vineyard excursion!
I’ll go with you to the cooking class.. I can cook but yeah that sounds like fun!!!
when you visit the motherland let’s plan a trip and take the kids too LOL
Ok as you can see I feel you on some of these to do things!!!
I’ve got my own list as well and a few I’ve accomplished.. Rock Climbing is a new fav sport of mine!
Learn to ice skate….I can picture you in a little tutu ~ LOL
I also want to visit Africa and scuba dive. Hopefully next year.
Seeing some of your goals remind me of some things I forgot about
I have some things like that and I want to get to it. I don’t have a passport yet but I do want to travel abroad, and that will be my reward after I get some more financial things accomplished. I don’t want to go into debt to accomplish them!
That’s definitely how I live my life. Not for the stuff, but for the experiences. I live to travel. Last year I went to Torin for the Olympics, then Rome. Two years before I went to England. Before that I went to Canada. I travel a lot in the United States as well. When I finish grad school we take an international trip to Geneva, Grenoble, and Paris. I first went to Paris at age 16. I treasure these trips and experiences. Hopefully, on this next trip for grad school, my younger sister will join me.
Terri I’m jealous of you !
Single Ma – Um, I think you should schedule that wine tasting event the weekend that I come to DC.. LOL! you know that is right up my alley… I’ll be looking for an email with the details :)
I will TAKE you to a winery.
You can’t live in one of the top 6 wine-producing states in the country and not go out for a tasting!
Amen. It has been documented by people with more credentials than me that experiences bring more lasting happiness than things. This is because as you remember the experiences, you have the pleasant memories and get to enjoy it again. Stuff, without an associated experience, does not evoke the same pleasant memories.
I want to take my son to London when he is old enough in a few years. It is history/political science lesson disguised as a city. Personally, I need to get back to Paris. Next to NYC, it is my favorite city. Hey, maybe a cooking class in Paris, followed by a wine tasting tour of the South of France? You have got me thinking as always.
Knowing you, you’ll have experienced all those things and more in LESS than five years :-)
Wow! great list.
Might I add that what REALLY makes a trip memorable and makes you feel like you’ve experienced something great is some sort of ‘unknown’ factor in your vacations. So, don’t plan everything out on your european vacation, leave something up to chance–get lost one day, for example.
I went to New Zealand in grad school with some friends for a month, staying in hostels wherever we ended up each day. Of course we didn’t know this, but they don’t have Super 8’s in NZ, and the hostels fill up at about 8 or so, so one night we had NO PLACE to sleep. our car was packed to the gills, and anyway I doubt there would have been a place to park and sleep all night. We wandered into a late-night movie theatre, the only place open, where the guy behind the counter took pity on us and let us sleep in his unfinished (but still had a working bathroom and roof) addition to his house way out in the boonies of NZ. That vacation was amazing in many ways, but mostly because of that experience. AND it’s a great story!
There does seem to be a lot of sunshine in your life, just leave the shades open longer.
You’re so right…it’s about the EXPERIENCES, not the stuff. I revised my list of “experiences” last week. And um, that wine tasting? That’s EASILY rectifiable. Catch a wine festival in NOVA next Spring. It’s hella-fun. *giggle*
You know, you can combine some of those. I looked into Spanish language programs in Spain once a long time ago, and you can actually go to Europe, learn a language, AND take a cooking and/or wine tasting class while you’re there. :) I’m sure there are other things like it where you might be able to combine your European vacation with wine tasting throughout the continent. It might make the goals more readily attainable if you can get two birds with one stone.
Whenever I come to your blog I learn something but this post is by far my favorite. This is why I am trying to save. The 401K’s are good. College savings for my children and getting out of debt is a must. but honestly I want to get all those musts out of the way to save for all those things you listed. When it comes down to it… no one is promised tomorrow.
Ok. Not to brag. But….
1. Yes. Backpacked for 30 days.
2. No.
3. Uh. It depends what you mean. How’s about cooking with my posh friends from high school and breaking out the cognac for a mustard cream sauce over chicken. (Silver Palette cooking, IIRC)
4. Yes, many times.
5. Yes, and I can teach you the latter locally in DC. hint hint
6. Er, no kids yet.
7. Yes. When I was 20 with my family and my family in Korea were lots of fun.
8. No, because generally they don’t rent scuba gear to asthmatics.
9. No.
10. Yes! Many times a YES! And there is a chapter here in NoVA!!!!
May I suggest a possible addition to your list??? Drive across the country and see the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, the Badlands of South Dakota, the Pacific Ocean, etc… There’s some amazing, wonderful places here in the US and it’s a great experience to see them all, up close and personal. IMHO.