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.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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