Saturday, December 31, 2011

Lori

Passed the California Bar.
Took a 25 foot cab ride.
Turned my back on great opportunities.
Loved, love and will love my son.
Built a house that is too big to be a home.

Lori, age 41

Vicky

Overcame childhood poverty.
Adopted a child.
Survived cancer.
Rode my old bike 65 miles in 110 F degree temperature with hubby.
Shared how to have a relationship with Christ with others.

Vicky

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Kristen

I cracked a hard-boiled egg on the Colosseum in Rome.
I used to love to run.
I once was obsessed with the game craps, and made craps sets for everyone in my family for Christmas gifts.
I was a passenger in a 1958 Oldsmobile that drove from Oakland, CA to Portland, OR overnight so the driver could turn in her final paper for class.
I sang a song in my grade-school variety show called Peanut Butter and Jelly in 3rd grade.

Kristen, age 42

Gwen

Born and brought up in Ottawa, Ontario.
Moved away for 20 years and traveled with the Military.
Fell in and out of love too many times.
Never looked or acted my age.
Love to babysit and dog sit.

Gwen, age 57

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Philip

Taught english in a small village school in the Republic of Georgia.
Stopped drinking alcohol.
Helped my Uncle Mike thru the last year of his life (he was my age, died of the cancer.)
Lost faith in my art.
Moved (again.)

Philip, age 56

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Douglas

I wanted to grow up to be a pilot.
I left the nest with great expectations.
I lived under a bush in the woods.
I started over again.
I rented an apartment.

Douglas, age 50

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Sandi

Became a mother of 3 fantastic kids.
First person in my family to get a masters degree.
Funded my own education.
Raised a princess pumpkin.
Traveled to 8+ countries with more on the bucket list!

Sandi

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Audrey

I was born and raised on a chicken farm in the New Jersey Pine Barrens and helped my Mom and Dad collect and candle the eggs.
I discovered through a black and white negative developed afterward exactly where Socrates had walked, taught and held philosophical discourses in Athens.
I climbed Mount Olympus behind a mule pack after a snow storm.
I adopted 2 life-long companions (my cats, Nounou and Champagne), found among thorny bushes outside a stone windmill house on a Greek Island.
I experienced war-torn Mogadishu, Somalia as a UN photographer during the period of Black Hawk Down.

Audrey

Monday, December 19, 2011

Teri

I was diagnosed dyslexic and designated Educationally Handicapped in third grade, and became the first in my family to earn 3 associate's degrees and attend University (my grandfather had a third grade education.)
I took acid.
I ran off with the circus.
I became a union stage technician in LA.
I am with my amazing husband of 20 years.

Teri, age 47

Thursday, December 15, 2011

JoAnn

I learned more by living my life than studying for it in college.
I lost my soul to a poodle.
I built a successful insurance agency from scratch.
I rented a limo and pretended to be Carly Simon's back up band (who was in town playing.)
I never give up.

JoAnn

Hawk

Tried to kill myself.
Made myself proud by becoming a published Alternative model.
Partied with celebrities.
Raised my best friend/son, Weeko, from a pup.
Met the love of my life, lost the love of my life.

Hawk, age 25

Eleanor

Battled wind.
Fell off a horse.
Flew.
Met a National Geographic photographer.
Played Guitar

Eleanor, age 15

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Michelle

I was born.
I gave my mom hell everyday of my teens.
I fell in love with a 1978 Camaro.
I spawned two punkrats...and love then more than my luggage!
I live. now. everyday.

Michelle, age 36

Monday, December 12, 2011

Ernest

I was a volunteer firefighter for six years, with multiple ranks including Chief Arson Investigator. I helped secure the conviction of a man for burning down a church.
I led police on a high speed pursuit, with speeds up to 150mph. I never spent time in jail for my crime.
I flew from Chicago to San Francisco for a date.
I talked someone out of committing suicide.
I performed rock music in Peru, South America in front of 2500 people.

Ernest, age 43

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Jane

I parachuted out of an airplane at 3,000 feet - and lived to tell about it.
I said "No" to Steve McQueen.
I designed a cottage inside a 10,000 sq. ft. horse barn utilizing four 12'x12' stalls for the downstairs rooms.
I went to law school 16 years after getting my BA in English - hated it/never practiced law.
I prepared a barely edible dinner for 12 at the request of a friend hosting a birthday party for her mother - and years later was a successful caterer.

Jane, almost 64

Snarko

Accidentally flashed a priest.
Jumped 60 feet off a cliff at Paleface into water (lesson: cross your legs!)
Run the entire political campaign, David Van Os for Texas State Attorney General, nearly single-handedly.
Created my own tarot deck based on Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.
Dyed my hair every color of the rainbow, and still do.

Snarko, age 40

Friday, December 9, 2011

Sarah

I dropped out of H.S. and got my GED.
I was addicted to crack and heroin.
I had a baby when I was 19.
I went to college, and dropped out.
I healed.

Sarah, age 29

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Mireya

1982 I invent an Easy Easel, an Easy paint Keeper palette and World on waves sculpture.
2000 I design and create the First Gallery in Motion.
2003 I created an Art Museum
2005 I created the First Art Mobile Museum in USA.
2007 I create the First Art Installation with a non-toxic floating painting cubes.

Mireya, age 73

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Lisa

Won money on a TV game show.
Was the first person in my family to obtain a Bachelors Degree.
Had a baby.
Found the love of my life.
Recorded at Sun Studios in Memphis, TN.

Lisa, age 57

Monday, December 5, 2011

Patti

I was a military child and lived in the Philippine Islands twice while growing up.
I went to 13 schools in 12 years.
I clean houses for a living.
I sell my mosaic and stained glass art.
I am the leader of the Military Brats Street Team group on etsy.com

Patti, age 56

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Jeanne

I developed arthritis in my early 20's (after I was married to my first husband) which made me finally realize that life is short and I better get busy and make a mark in this life or I would not live a worthy life.
After receiving my bachelors degree in art, I received a divorce from my ex-husband, because he fell in love with one of his students, therefore I decided to go to grad school for art.
I had my first child (Lucas the biggest love of my life) at 42 and have raised him on my own.
At 46 I married my second husband, Michael, and for the second time developed a severe case of arthritis.
I have continued to be an artist.

Jeanne, age 47

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Valerie

Rescued donuts from the dumpster under the cover of darkness.
Sipped cocktails with the supreme court.
Quit my real job to be a road manager for a rock band.
Walked the plains of Africa.
Caught my backdoor neighbor dancing in his tighty whiteys....

Valerie, age 41

Kristen

At 23 I cared for my mother who was ill with cancer and watched her die.
At 24 I got married.
At 26 I had my first baby.
At 28 I had my second baby.
This morning for breakfast I made coffee, eggs, oatmeal. green smoothies and cut up apples and grapes.

Kristen, age 29

Monday, November 28, 2011

Jessica

Disappointed everyone by dropping out of high school 3 months before graduation.
After 9 months of working dead-end jobs I got accepted to 3 Universities with my nearly perfect GED scores.
I watched my mother grow from a single teen mother to mature woman, now married with 4 other children.
Wasted 8 yrs being really depressed and blinded by immature thoughts of suicide.
Realized one day that I was surprised to be still alive and astonished by what I've accomplished.

Jessica, age 20

Robert

Returning from the Peace Corps I crossed the stormy sea from Columbia to Panama in a canoe with some albino Indians from San Bias.
Escaped from a military prison in Washington State and fled to Mexico where I met my wife.
While meditating in Bombay (now Mumbai) had a vision of Jesus.
Had a second vision of him in the Anza Borrego desert of California and made translations of the four Gospels from a pacifist-Unitarian viewpoint.
In 2011, walked through a biker's street party in Sarasota Florida admist curses and death threats carrying a sign that said, "God hates wars and those who fight them."

Robert, age 68

Roly Chang Barrero

I was a member of ACT-UP (The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power).
I traveled the world as a flight attendant for United.
I earned a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
I opened an ART Gallery in Boynton Beach Florida called ActivisArtistA.
I fell in love with a man named Gil.

Roly Chang Barrero, age 49

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Charlene

Caregiver who watched the terrible disease of Cancer take away the love of my life, my husband.
Educator of Middle School and Graduate students, who can hopefully make a difference in the lives of my students.
Received the Make a Difference Award as one of the Top Ten Teachers in 1999 from the Anti-Defamation League.
Learned to accept my family for who they are and have realized that I define who I am by my own actions and not by what others may think.
Keeps a journal to record my feelings of joys and sadness.

Charlene, age 54

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Anne

Made models of "The Life Cycle of the Cat Flea" in polyester resin for the Australian Museum.
Worked radio tracking Grey-headed Flying Foxes while also foster-caring kangaroo joeys.
Danced with the Early Dance Consort for 20 years, and got to dance in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall with the music of the Brandenburg Orchestra.
Married a wonderful man and had 2 gorgeous children.
Wrote and illustrated a children's book on endangered species.

Anne, age 50

(Anne's list is in chronological order.)

Friday, November 25, 2011

Erika

Learned to wind surf in the English Channel.
Left my fiance, even though part of me still belongs to him.
Had pinup photos of myself taken (and they are hot.)
Have posed naked for artists, and seen their drawings of me exhibited in galleries.
Packed everything I owned into a 14 foot U-Haul, drove 8 hours by myself to a place I'd never been before, to follow my dream of getting my MFA.

Erika, age 25

Alex

Committed to a dog.
Fell in love. Then out. And then fell again. And then out.
Left 100 teacups on a city street.
Stood in Tienanmen Square when I was 20 and realized how small I was.
Stayed optimistic.

Alex, age 28

Michelle

I heard the angels speak to me on a bridge in Venice.
I have encountered spirits both good and bad.
I have known moments of pure joy.
I survived a childhood of domestic violence.
I have learned to listen to God's voice.

Michelle, age 49

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Meg

Laid a loving kiss on my dead mother's cool cheek.
Ate a sashimi slice of my firstborn's placenta.
Avoided detention by men with machine guns at the then newly non-communist Uzbekistan airport.
Rode in a monster truck.
After a lifetime of wanting to, wrote a book, and then another one!

Meg, age 45

Tom

Calculated all the cars' number plates on my walk to school.
Got arrested at student protests on both sides of the Tasman Sea (and for being "illegally on a building site".)
Cycled 1,400 kilometers from a small town called Moron to a smaller town, also called Moron.
Shook David Hasselhoff''s hand.
Moved in with my girlfriend.

Tom, age 32

Zane

Sired two beautiful children.
Stood in the same room with Nelson Mandela, and wept when the Internationale played.
Built back line speaker cabinets for John "the Ox" Entwistle.
Crossed the equator many (too many to count) times.
Caught the bus to work this morning.

Zane

Jennifer

I was a NYC bike messenger for 5 years.
I worked as a dog walker in NYC.
I went a little crazy.
I fell in love, several times.
I had my heart broken.

Jennifer, age 39

Alan

Tried to kill myself.
Faked it till I made it out of psych hospital.
Tried to kill myself again.
Woke up and realized everything had changed.
Understood that death is nothing to gain.

Alan, age 28

Chioma

Climbed the Eiffel Tower.
Built a school in Tanzania for charity.
Sang in my friend's funeral.
Spent more than 60 pounds on body products all in one transaction.
On Valentine's Day, gave a rose to my tutor who I refer to as the grandfather/guardian I've never had.

Chioma, age 21

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Noelle

Got married to afford art school.
Saw my dad die in a trailer full of relatives I never met.
Threw a tiara at a cashier.
Took naughty photos in high school for art class and got suspended.
Had a baby.

Noelle, age 26

Lucie

Have wished my sister didn't have a disability.
Ran a marathon.
Traveled around the world with a backpack full of books I couldn't bear to leave behind.
Seen a loved one dying.
Felt I could never love again.

Lucie, age 24

Debra

Fell in love with someone who taught me to live for each day.
Followed the sun to California.
Traveled to the Amazon rain-forest at age 12 and basked in the glory of the wilderness.
Learned I have the potential to be successful at everything I do.
Cried a lot of tears, ate a lot of donuts, cooked a lot of meals for people I love.

Debra B, age 29

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Sherri

Worked in Yosemite as my first job away from home.
Followed the Grateful Dead on tour across the US.
Was an Avionics Technician in the Navy.
Lived in a Tipi.
Sold lots of my paintings.

Sherri, age 42

Friday, November 18, 2011

Laura Jean

I broke my neck and 17 teeth, all at once.
I drove my car 130 mph.
I left home at age 18 with $500 and didn't look back.
I drove a 1967 Volvo from Montana to Massachusetts.
I herded 1,000 goats in the mountains.

Laura Jean, age 27

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Stephanie

Entered a morgue on a dare in Puebla, Mexico claiming to know someone who died and "needing" to ID their body.
Swam with urethra fish in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Broke my back.
Traveled alone to Cali, Columbia at age 25.
Gone into countless homes of unknown people as a teen parent social worker.

Stephanie, age 32

Todd

Found life after a crushing divorce.
Accepted responsibility for two other people's 'mistake'.
Said goodbye to both parents by the age of 23 (I'm the oldest of 4 siblings).
Nearly died at the age of 15 from appendicitis due to which I now have no bellybutton.
Served time in jail for ticking off a judge.

Todd, age irrelevant

Eileen

Sang a solo on TV at age 7.
Walked halfway across a frozen river.
Received a Ph.D. from Harvard.
Adopted my son in Bogota, my daughter in Pacific NW.
Wrote and published book of drawings and poems.

Eileen, age 66

Mels

Laughed in the ocean.
Ate many fancy cupcakes.
Broke a few hearts.
Felt lonely.
Laid in the delicious sunshine.

Mels, age 24

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Brandon

Learned to fly a plane.
Jumped out of a plane.
Passed out face down in the shadow of death.
Found God.
Found a wife.

Brandon, age 28

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Meghan

I made cheese for a living.
I healed my back after a herniated disc...mostly.
I survived a break-in and sexual assault.
I lived on an island for two years.
I wrote and published a book.

Meghan, age 30

Monday, November 14, 2011

Susan

I had 5 children, one adopted.
Was a foster parent for 4 years.
I am an artist-painter, potter, and play with glass.
I finished a two-year degree.
I built many walls in my house.

Susan, age 48

Ulrich

Ordained as Shingon Japanese Buddhist Priest.
Published 15 books on Philosophy.
Sold my paintings for more the US $1 million.
Ordained Orthodox Christian Priest.
Became a religious hermit monk.

Ulrich

Friday, November 11, 2011

Victor

Became a film maker.
Became an actor.
Became an artist.
Became a journalist.
Became a seeker of truth.

Victor, age 65

Marianne

I've won a medal at Carnegie Hall for my art.
I gave my coat to a homeless person yesterday.
I fearlessly make conversations to strangers on the bus.
I've gone to rehab and the people I met there changed my life.
I believe I fall in love with everyone I meet even for a second.

Marianne, age 19

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Ana Karina

Interned at the Smithsonian.
Slept in the Milan airport alone, twice.
Danced on a rooftop.
Drove alone form Austin to Miami for myself.
Spent all my savings.

Ana Karina, age 24

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Peaty

Walked France alone from A. Ocean to M. Sea.
Wrote 55 books of journals keeping my mind free.
Raised rabbits, chickens, vegetables, bees.
Slept in 168 countries, states and territories.
Artfully passed 4 brushes with death.

Peaty, age 62

Allie

Learned to say yes.
Went into art school as a graphic design major (for my parents,) but came out with a BFA in Photography (for myself) - ironic, because who the hell goes to art school for their parents?
Learned to forgive, only after maliciously and irreversibly removing a number of people from my life.
Tried hard drugs.
On a whim, and at a time when I really needed money, I took a non-paying job that continues to change my life (and I continue to need money.)

Allie, age 22

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Olea

Lived in a cemetery.
Sailed on a tall ship.
Created and published a suburban newspaper.
Wrote poetry.
Survived cancer.

Olea

Layne

Lived at over 45 addresses since birth, but I am not a traveller/gypsy/tinker/pikie.
Had my Gallbladder removed at 20.
Co-led the 2011 occupation against cuts to arts funding and the rise in tuition fees at Bath Spa Uni, England.
My art blog got over 11,000 hits in one day for the post about my 'Self Portrait with Menstral Blood' artwork.
In 2003 I went insane for a while, I woke up this year.

Layne, age 28

Friday, November 4, 2011

Venus

Wrote a story about a red balloon.
Wrote a story about a dot.
Had a miscarriage and gave birth on the exact date two years apart.
Unintentionally hurt my sister and watched my family slowly fall apart.
Healing from depression daily, sometimes hour by hour.

Venus, age 40

Kiam

Served 7 years in the US Navy.
Bathed and cleaned and took care of patients with cancer.
Helped deliver premature babies in Haiti.
Surfed dozens of couches in Europe and Central America.
Realized my need to live life as an artist.

Kiam, age 27

Paula

Drove from Austin to New Orleans in the middle of the night with a complete stranger.
Danced on the bar at the original Coyote Ugly - before it got trendy...and while I was up there, sang "Shook me all night long" with tremendous abandon and absolutely no skill.
Forgave myself (for a lot more than the crap singing).
Skated in the roller derby...AFTER the spinal surgery.
Learned to love everything that makes up my past, but also learned to believe that who I've been doesn't define who I'm becoming.

Paula, age 35

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Jo

Had two amazing children.
Overcame self consciousness and fear and started to do ecstatic dance.
Created a ceramic wall chair installation of 108 chairs and found objects.
Began writing.
Visited the Grand Canyon, a long time dream.

Jo, age 58

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Sonia

Gotten a BFA.
Set fire to an Art Wing at Boarding School.
Finished my Masters.
Became a Superstar (in my mind).
Eaten lots of Gelato.

Sonia, age 35

Lauri

Graduated from college 4 times (BS Ed, MSLS, BSN, MSN)
Submitted and was accepted in my first juried exhibit at age 49.
Rode the "Tail of the Dragon" on a motorcycle.
Gotten a tattoo.
Found my true (creative) self.

Lauri, age 50

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Susu

I immigrated to New York from the middle-east when I was 20.
I studied fashion design, then studied fine art in Los Angeles.
I married a man 14 years my junior.
I visited Paris and exhibited my paintings.
I have my dream house in Florida.

Susu, age 55

Friday, October 28, 2011

Stacy

Relax on a Mexican beach with a Margarita.
View the city of Paris from atop the Eiffel Tower.
Climb the Great Wall of China.
Hike the Inka Trail to Machu Picchu.
Ride a bike through the Dutch countryside to the Van Gogh Museum.

Stacy, age 36

Adrian

Posed nude for artists including pleasure.
Been in the Territorial Army.
Been to the Royal Albert Hall every year since 1998.
Been in hospital as my heart beats too fast.
Taken part in the Naked Bike ride.

Adrian, age 48

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Luciana

I started drawing when I was 2.
I entered University when I was 17.
I moved alone from South America to Europe when I was 19.
Gave birth to my son when I was 21.
I got divorced when I was 38.

Luciana, age 40

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Kristina

Loved to the verge of rupture....and transformation (though not liberation.)
Thrived despite uncertainty and vulnerability.
Hurt someone I very deeply admire.
Been inspired by youth....and inspired them in return.
Become passionately energized & enamored of rhythm as it emanates from the heart and exits expands explodes via the extremities....

Kristina, age 27

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Ed

Lost everything, including my confidence and tried to kill myself.
After a lot of hard work finally became successful in the industry I always wanted to work in.
Posed naked for art classes, for private students and for fun.
Met and worked along side famous actors and directors, many of whom were my idols.
Got married to the most beautiful person I've ever met. Never again felt like life wasn't worth living.

Ed, age 29

Todd

Lived outside of Maryland for the first time in my 24 years of life.
Performed in 14 different plays, musicals, or movement pieces over the past eight years.
Graduated from college with a Bachelors of Science in Theater.
Worked at Starbucks for the past 10 months post-grad.
Wanted to be a musician for the past eight years.

Todd, age 24

Victoria

Mom of 5 great young people with dream of their own to fulfill.
Successful Career: Team leader, Assistant Manager, Classroom Teacher.
Earned a master's degree: Summa Cum Laude with a 3.97 GPA (just missed my 4.0 goal, but it will do.)
Taught my children "It is OK to walk away from an unhealthy relationship and to be alone."
Learned to believe in myself.

Victoria, age 45

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Hannah

Gave birth to a son on my friends dining room floor. (by choice, not accident)
Dove from the deck of a schooner and 44 feet down to pull a drowning friend from the bottom of the Caribbean Sea. (I was too late)
Jumped flaming double dutch ropes in front of 2,000. (Salt Lake City)
Had sex with my best friends boyfriend with her asleep next to us in bed.
Built a house with my own hands (and my partners) in a far-off mountain side.

Hannah, age 32

Renee

Peace Corps Volunteer.
Created a hug garden with hubby for growing our own food.
Completed my MFA in Visual Art.
Learned to breathe.
Learned to be gentle with myself.

Renee, age 35

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Wynde

Repressed a whole lot of memories.
Left my hometown and never went back.
Made a conscious effort to be vulnerable.
Built a 1/2-sized replica of my childhood home.
Successfully navigated a lot of bureaucratic red tape.

Wynde, age 31

Julia

Gave my life to Christ.
Washed dishes and toilets for cash.
Earned an MFA making perfume.
Explored cities alone.
I'd like to think my list isn't done, things yet to do.

Julia, age 32

Friday, October 21, 2011

Jonah

Got molested by my babysitter.
Got placed in special ed for fighting.
Spent a year in a mental hospital.
Traveled the country in a van for two years.
Went back to school and received a BFA.

Jonah

Brigid

I went to a public primary school.
I walked 1200km on the camino de santiago.
I went to uni in spain for a year.
I choreographed a performance of cabaret.
I was rejected from 8 funding bodies in 2011.

Brigid, age 25

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Jenn

Survived Cancer at 20.
Went on the graduate from Art School 4 years later.
Illustrated a book cover that went on to be published.
Spent my free time at a hospital making art with kids who have cancer.
Working on the final touches to my first comic series.

Jenn, age 27

Bridget

Refused to apply to any college but an Ivy League one that I had minimal chance of getting accepted to much less being able to afford (got accepted, went, still paying off student loans).
Completed the Paris Marathon (walking/running) even though I weighed over 200 pounds.
Adopted a baby beagle on the spur of the moment from some guy at the shopping mall.
Got naked in a hot springs under a full moon and laughed out loud by myself.
Found homes for not one but three desert tortoises who have appeared in my life at solitary times in very odd places.

Bridget, age 44

Vanya

Had a job wrestling alligators, and wrangling all sorts of other animals, on tour from Colorado to Niagara Falls.
Won a blue ribbon in horse show jumping.
Accepted a position as "kept woman" in Kansas City for about 2 days, when I got fed up and went home.
Traveled to 4 continents while making less than 15K a year throughout my adult life. When I ran out of money, I lost sleep, cuddling up to castle walls, or drifting from tea house to tea house.
Occasional work as a figure drawing model leaves me uncertain as to whether being naked in public is dream or remembrance.

Vanya, age 41

Andi

Smoked my first cigarette at 15.
Pierced my own nose.
Drove 700 miles to be with someone for one night.
Served drinks at the British Consul's apartment.
Opened my own business at age 21.

Andi, age 23

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Berta

Hopped on a random bus just to see where it went.
Let out all frustration and stress at 10,000 feet.
Reconnected with my mother.
Found comfort in art and baking after deciding to go to an engineering school.
Almost drowned at the age of three and have been inseparable from the water ever since.

Berta, age 19


Monday, October 17, 2011

Joan

Gotten lost and escaped from a rattlesnake encounter in the Badlands.
Created abstract landscapes in ceramics, acrylics, beading, bread, textiles and other medium for fifty-odd years and not bored yet.
Cooked and hosted a dinner party every night this week.
Received a "Thank You" for helping edit an academic book as a lay person.
Sat holding the hand of each of my in-laws as they left this world.

Joan, age 57

Tanya

Started exhibiting my photos.
Celebrated my 50th birthday.
Went to Greece, Italy and Africa.
Helped my mother survive breast cancer.
Started sewing again after 20 year hiatus.

Tanya, age 50

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Katie

Rescued multiple animals close to death.
Became a Vegetarian at age 7, continued to this day.
Said goodbye to my best friend before she moved cross country.
ride my horses everyday, rain, shine, 115 degrees or 30 degrees.
Snuck out of my house on my birthday with my friends, only to be stopped be the police & taken back home.

Katie, age 16

Tara

Hitchhiked across the USA then stowed away on a train coming back.
Lived/studied Art in Italy.
Parented two beautiful creative daughters.
Ran marathons and triathlons.
Worked as a "fluffer" fluffing pillows and beds in a fancy department store boutique.

Tara, age 50

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Alex

I broke off relationships that I didn't want to sustain.
I moved alone across country.
I married at 41, which is 10-15 years later than I had expected.
I fell in love with my first dog after my cat was killed.
I started performing as a dancer at age 45.

Alex

Nancy

I became an artist at 7, a writer at 9 and a musician at 10.
I wrote a dissertation that is a standard reference work.
My husband and I were chased by an elephant in South Africa.
I showed my etchings in Japan.
I found a nice assisted living place for my mother.

Nancy, 67 so far.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Jessica

In 3 months from March to June 2008, I:

Started a new job.
Found out I was pregnant.
Sold a house.
Bought a house.
Planned a wedding & got married in 89 days.

Jessica, age 33

Carma

Took a curling lesson.
Began belly dancing despite not being a natural dancer. It shows.
Gone back to college for a new degree 20 years after my prior degree.
Bounce juggled 11 balls with my insanely awesome teenage son.
Tried to eat a veggie burger. Still can't stomach it. -And I'm a vegetarian.

Carma, age 44

Cliff

Hitchhiked 20 miles each way back and forth to high school.
Sang in the shower with Jay black of Jay and the Americans when I was in the Army.
Stood on the sidewalk in Louisville Kentucky in 1968 and watched Thomas Merton's funeral procession go by.
Swam in the ocean off the coast of Maine every day for three straight months.
Have walked at least 3 miles a day virtually every day for the past 55 years.

Cliff, age 65

Christy X

Had my first child at 17.
Went to film school at 36.
Had my first professional hair foiling at 38.
Pitched my first documentary proposal at 38.
Enjoyed my second run at the Local Sightings Film Festival in Seattle, WA in 2011.

Christy X, age 38

Natalia

I danced in the spotlight for 13 years.
I became a vegetarian.
I ran the Catalina Marathon.
I received my BA in Art.
I meditated in various temples in Japan.

Natalia, age 26

Bethany

I have paraglided over the Swiss Alps.
I have hitchhiked.
I have spent four months backpacking across Europe.
I have eaten alligator.
I have taken a cross-country road trip.

Bethany, age 26

Shurvon

Went to Disneyland.
Wore a back brace.
Went inner-tubing down Mt. Rainier.
Soaked in a Jacuzzi in the middle of the ocean aboard a cruise ship at midnight.
Went back to school to finish my college degree.

Shurvon, age: over 20 under 50

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Nina

I have broken up with and gotten back together with someone over and over.
I have ended friendships without giving the friend an explanation.
I have told other people's secrets.
I have kept other people's secrets.
I have let people treat me other than I should be treated.

Nina, age 36

Lele

I learned to love & trust again after years of sexual abuse.
I succeeded after being told I wouldn't.
I found happiness after severe depression.
I danced in LA, Boston and NYC.
I modeled for photographers, artists and sculptors.

Lele, age 22

Mary

I survived on the ice.
I learned to cook.
I fixed my car.
I built good fires.
I listened.

Mary, age 28

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Gabrielle

Woke up next to a beautiful man.
Missed my flight.
Learned how to cook.
Learned how to clean.
Drank some coffee.

Gabrielle, age 21

Kira

Hiked the Inca trail to Macchu Picchu.
Beat myself up until I was swollen and bruised.
Grew up on an organic fruit, herb, and flower farm.
Been part of a pornographic film.
Flown in an airplane more than 150 times.

Kira, 20

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Mirela

My earliest childhood memories consist of war. I survived said war.
I have lived in 4 different countries.
I have created (and continue to create) beautiful works of art.
I have recently purchased a brand new car. A red one. It's the first (and only) thing I truly own.
My first step towards independence.
I am the first college graduate in my entire family.

Mirela, age 23

Eileen

I secretly sliced my dead goldfish to see if his heart was broken too.
I married for Love.
I adopted the child of my heart not my belly.
I stood up to my Stalker and won.
I've proudly become my Mother.

Eileen, age 50

Monday, October 10, 2011

Liz

I played in the woods as a child.
I was Miep Gies in an Anne Frank re-enactment at age 14.
I received my BFA in ceramics and am pursuing art.
I traveled to Florence, Italy, to eat real Italian food with my friend and husband.
I have loved and been loved.

Liz, age 25