Peg

I told myself at age 11 that there was no reason for me to be shy anymore.

I took my dog Joe to the vet when she was 13 to be euthanized. 

I pumped gas on the south rim of the Grand Canyon when it was novel for a girl to pump gas.

I planted a fig tree in the back yard by the light of the moon.

I was grumpy on a conference call this morning.

Peg, age 51

Elena

I credit my Jewish, Shinto, and Buddhist upbringing for my present atheism.
I fell in love with my best friend who left me for someone else.
I was in denial about having clinical depression even after attempting to hang myself two years ago.

I feel like the biggest fake when my peers enthusiastically voice how they channel their despondency and frustration through writing and producing art.

I recently rolled on molly and went to a show with my closest friends from high school. I haven't felt so safe, so happy with myself, in a very long time.

Elena, age 22  

Marilyn

My first out-of-state experience was flying to Seattle, WA at 22-years-old to visit my homesick boyfriend for the weekend.
I was about five-years-old when my mother threatened to take the bottle away.  In return, I vowed never to drink whole milk for as long as I live.  I've held onto that grudge/promise for 18 years.
It took less than 24 hours to fall in love with my boyfriend.  We've been together for three years now.
I lost my 17-year-old cousin to a staph infection four years ago.  I dedicated my college graduation to him in the family invitations.
I've been having panic attacks for the past six months and I've just realized that I'm experiencing a quarter-life crisis.

Marilyn, age 23
   

Kristen

I have loved.
I have lost.
I have given birth to a beautiful baby girl.
I have been strong.
And weak.

Kristen, age 20

Carter

I had a house burn down around me while I was "lounging in my robe and slippers," as was reported in the local paper.
I've seen the sun set on Mt. Katahdin, Delicate Arch, and the Great Western Divide.
I served as a chaplain on a geriatric psychiatry ward.
I've actively considered suicide.
I've eaten wild strawberry pie.

Carter, age 55

Scott

I built a raft out of drift wood, Huck Finn style, and spent a month floating the magical wilderness of the Yukon River.

I fell in love three times and am afraid it won't happen again.

I broke into an abandoned house, fixed it up, and lived in it.

I fell in love with life and dared to live like it, despite my battle with depression and anxiety.

I laid in the Sun with my eyes closed and smiled.

Scott, age 29

Jodi

I have been in love 3.5 times
I was a teenage runaway.
I worked for an international arts organization creating sculpture parks.
I have been in a psychiatric hospital over 5 times.
I was abandoned as a child. 

Jodi, age 32

David

I had 1 love.

2 children.

I was in 2 wars.

I drank too much.

And ran for 30 years and now I can barely walk.

David, age 50

Megan

I went skydiving for my 18th birthday.

I stole a pair of pink UGG rainboots from a department store.

When I was younger I told my mother that I hated her, and now make art about my love for her.

Got back at a roommate by putting garlic powder in her powdered creamer.

Went to a baseball game at Fenway Park.

Megan, age 24

Jeanette

As a child never went to the same school for more than a few months, was always the new kid put in class after the school year already started.

My first job was at the famous "Train Station McDonalds" in Barstow, CA.

Taught myself how to snowboard and am very good at it.

I make jewelry and other crafty things.

Quit my job, sold most of my belongings and moved to Maryland.

Jeanette

Pamela

i lived in an Eskimo village without running water.

I played in the alleys of the housing projects of Detroit and loved it!

I thumb wrestled with the Duchess of York, Sara Ferguson.

I acted on stage in my underwear in Minneapolis.

I play the straw in my armpit!

Pamela

Jason

When I was a child, I threw a chair at my mother.

Now that I'm an adult, my mother and I are good friends.

I lived on rice and beans, and peanut butter sandwiches for a whole year while living on my own, looking for work and doing art.

I've drank with the homeless in the park during broad daylight.

And I've danced freely under the stars.

Jason, age 30

Jerald

I started www.tpaging.com (2012) .

I was homeless in New Orleans for two years.

I graduated from college without a diploma.

I married and raised the best step-son I could ever have.

I am thirty years old , and I learned how to play the guitar in one year!

Jerald, age 30

Rachel

I went to Poland and visited the Old Warsaw Ghetto, Auschwitz, Majdanek and Treblinka when I was 17.

I lost my best friend and broke my back in a car accident.

I bought 2 turntables and a mixer and DJ'd some big EDM events in Hollywood, CA.
I fell in love with my biggest supporter and married him.
Had Twins at 34...and life continues

Rachel, age 34

Janet

Saw the Beatles during their first appearance at Shea Stadium.

Interviewed Woody Allen for my high school newspaper in 1968.

Transitioned from "victim" to "survivor" of stranger rape.

Lived on a houseboat in Sausalito and in a farmhouse in rural New England.

Made friends with almost every kid or dog I've ever met.

Janet, age 60

Sue

I argued with the man with the gun.

I thought cannoli started with a "G" until I was 28.

I went to Venice, and I heard what it had to tell me.

I fought for my daughters.

The man I loved when I was 20 is the man I love at 50.

Sue, age 48

Zach

I practiced skidding my bike tires on my dirt road.

I drank malt liquor on the abandoned bleachers with friends.

I nearly got stuck forever in the Bolivian jungle.

I fell in love with two best friends. It ended in heartbreak.

I built a table and it was gorgeous.

Zach, age 25

Sarah

I started masturbating at the age of three.

I got arrested at the age of six for breaking into someone's house and stealing jewelry then trying to sell it on the street.

I was told by my mother to lay on the couch so she could break my legs after I got caught drinking at school.

I listened to hardcore underground rap when I was an angry teenager.

I moved to New York with my backpack and a dream.

Sarah, age 23

JC

Tried to wash off my freckles with lemon juice and failed.

Learned how to make a snail come out of its shell - literally!

Getting to see my daughter play with the women she is named after - her great grandmother.

Bought my 4 year old a film camera, because I want her to know the art of photography.

Lost over fifty pounds and learned to love my body.

JC

Chandra

I survived my awkward younger years and made so many mistakes, that I don't regret.

I met my soul mate and married him.

I realized the law of attraction works in mysterious way.

I had three babies within four years.

I was given confidence, friendship and encouragement to pursue my dreams.

Chandra, age 27

Naomi

I AM GLAD TO BE ALIVE. I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE THE CELESTIAL PARTY YET. THE NEWS IS SO INTERESTING, I WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

I TOLD THE WORLD I LOVED IT AND I PRAYED FOR PEACE. I THOUGHT MOST PEOPLE PREFER PEACE SO THEY CAN TEND THEIR GARDENS AND JUST MAKE A LIVING WITHOUT DISTURBING PEOPLE OVERSEAS WHO DESERVE TO BE LEFT ALONE.

I BOUGHT A MARIACHI TRAJE AND SOMBRERO JUST BECAUSE I WANTED TO.

I THOUGHT HOW MUSIC MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER.

LOOKING FORWARD TO PASSOVER SEDER AT MY SYNAGOGUE AND WISHING THE CHRISTIANS AND THE OTHER PEOPLE A BEAUTIFUL AND HAPPY HOLY TIME!

Naomi, age 84

Esther

MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE NEWS OF THE WORLD AS IT HAPPENED.

I SEWED DOLLS AND TOYS FOR ORPHANS AND DISPLACED CHILDREN IN THE BATTERED WOMEN SHELTERS TO HUG SINCE I COULD NOT BE THERE TO HUG THEM ALL IN PERSON AND TELL THEM THAT I LOVED THEM.

I LEARNED HOW TO SPIT SHINE A PAIR OF BOOTS.

I HAVE BEEN AN EXTRA IN SEVERAL FILMS THAT WERE DONE AROUND HERE.

I LEARNED HOW TO FIND THE NEWS ON THE INTERNET AND MY LIFE HAS NOT BEEN THE SAME.

Esther, age 79

Thea

I found a place where I can belong and be me.

I am now the age where I can speak my mind and I often do.

I see how absolutely stupid unprovoked war is. How obscene, unnatural and disruptive. Maybe we should let mothers,musicians, cooks and dog owners run the world.

I can't save the world but I can give the homeless person a warm blanket in the winter, a bottle of water in the summer and a job lead and I often do. My world starts here in my neighborhood when I see my brothers and sisters in dire need while politicians worldwide on all sides help themselves to the best of everything and, lo, their expensive pockets are flush with cash.

Today I said my prayers and felt that someone had heard me.

Thea, (lady of a certain age.)

Tara

I was born outside, under a tree.

I wandered through the Swaziland countryside by myself.

I sang songs on the beach, and scared away policemen.

I found a dead mouse in my sink.

I went to four different colleges.

Tara, age 23

Jacob

I saw my best friend die in front of me.

I finished high school after a long struggle with drugs.

I jumped out of a plane and touched a cloud.

I learned how to quilt.

I found happiness with myself.

Jacob, age 23

Kate

Got my Art Degree and struggled as I watched every average Joe on the street gain success without formal training.

Loved and lost my soul mate, my Grandpa Truck.

Got married too young.

Learned to grow and cook delicious meals.

Gave up my dreams of being a singer so I could headline every night in the shower while my husband brushes his teeth.

Kate, age 25

Adam

I got out of high school as quickly as possible.

I trekked through the Himalayas in India and smoked hash.

I ate goat stew on an island in Bangladesh.

I turned down the job of being a male prostitute for Hollywood directors.

I recorded an album called "Drowned in the Sky".

Adam, age 22

Alexis

Met my father.

Gave birth to my son.

Lived on the beach in Michoacan, Mexico for 6 mos.

Wrote a book.

Ate an entire apple pie in the sun!

Alexis, age 33

Stacie

Married my best friend.

Was the first in the family to graduate College.

Quit my job to follow my dreams.

Rescued my dog.

Suffer from OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.)

Stacie, age 29

Fasai

Got married when never thought of marrying anyone in my life.
Moved to U.S.
Become a professional artist.
Got the citizenship.
Licensed to be a Zumba Instructor.

Fasai, age 41

Jin

Born
Grew
Married
Procreated
Died

Jin, age 37