It has been a while since I last posted in my blog. Work has been busy and that has not been a bad thing.
I was reading my cousin Danny's blog and I got a little bit of inspiration (Which is what I believe Danny intends for his blog to do) and decided to write down the things that I hope to achieve in my lifetime. Some of these things have happened but they are still things that I knew I wanted to do in my life and am proud that I did them.
1) Go on a road trip:
This one has happened multiple times. These have always been some of the best days of my life. I enjoy spending time with people in confined spaces because you really bond with them. I do not remember any of the conversations I had with people during road trips but I always know that I feel more connected to that person or persons at the end of the trip. I have taken road trips to many places but the longest ones were Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Virginia. Atlanta was a trip to move my cousin Andrew into his new apartment. We traveled from NH to GA, moved him in, quickly explored the city, and drove back to NH in less than 72 hours. I traveled to Cincinnati with my cousin Danny and his friend to do the Flying Pig marathon. The ride out was not too bad until we hit the farms. The ride back was brutal. Running a marathon is tough enough but getting into a car for 14 hours immediately after was not ideal. Virginia was a trip with my family and Wife (Girlfriend at the time). Me, Bobby, Jimmy, and Megan drove in one car and my parents in the other. All of these trips have been great but the best part was the ride. This is the reason that I wanted to go to Canada for my bachelor party (That and one of the best men was not 21 yet).
2) Visit all 50 states:
This one is self explanatory. I enjoy traveling and experiencing new things. I also enjoy food and nothing beats trying a "best in the country" type place. You have had chili but you have never had Skyline Chili (Cincinnati). You have had a burger but have you had the Guido Burger from Hodad's (San Diego)? I have spent time in
CT, NH, MA, ME, VT, RI, NY, PA, NJ, OH, MD, GA,
FL, VA, AZ, NV, CO, CA, HI, and KY. I have a lot more to go. I also want to clarify that I want to spend time in these places, not just travel through. I could cross off Illinois, South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia if that was the case but I don't think sitting in O'Hare Airport qualifies as a visit to Illinois (Even if I did eat a Chicago Hot Dog). This year I will be adding Texas to this list of places I have been. Only 30 more states to go!
3) Go to Europe:
Once again, I like to travel. The other piece is that I have spent my entire life in a place that I know or at least can figure out. Going to another country would provide me with the experience of being in a place where I do not know the language thus making it a bit more challenging. That being said, I do not intend to get lost and die just because I wanted a challenge. Europe with give me a nice medium. The countries I plan to visit are France, Ireland, Spain, Italy, and England. This trip or trips have another important part to them due to the fact that my cousin Kevin's ashes were scattered in Ireland and France. He was one day younger than me and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. He could make anyone laugh and was always there when you needed him. It was devastating to my family when he passed away. I would love to get the chance to visit him again.
4) Get a college degree:
I have done this. Twice. After receiving my Master's degree I realized that I want to keep learning and getting better at what I do. I have two goals under this category. First, I would like to get my doctorate. This will require a lot of hard work but it would be really cool to have people call me Dr. Castelot. I also want to be the best at what I do which is educating students. I think I owe it to the students paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for an education. Secondly, I would like to get a college degree from an Ivy league school. This one is for pure bragging rights.
5) Teach a college course:
This spring I am going to be co-teaching a college course in a Higher Education Master's Program. This will be my first time teaching a course and I am hoping that I will enjoy it enough to continue to teach. I would love to teach a course by myself.
6) Become someone's mentor:
I do not have much control over this one. I just need to keep moving forward and trying to be the best that I can be. Hopefully in 10-15 years, someone will see me as an expert in my field and look to me as a mentor.
7) Get married:
This one has happened. It was the best day of my life and I would relive it everyday if I could. Scratch that. I would relive the few days before, the days of, and the week after. Everything about the wedding was amazing. I love spending time with friends and family and to have it be a celebration with great food and dancing was all I could ask for. It was a great party with the people that Megan and I find to be the most important in our lives.
8) Become a father:
This has not happened and is not happening (yet). Megan and I want to spend time enjoying our marriage for now but I know that I want to have a family. The time will come when it happens but for now, Megan and I are enjoying the days where we can change dinner plans at the drop of a hat, go out for drinks as late as we want, and sleep in on the weekends without having to worry about a little one. I enjoy being an uncle to two great kids who are giving me a lesson on how to say "no" and "don't put that fork in that electrical socket!" That last one hasn't really happened.
9) Buy a house:
This goes with the previous item. I want to have a house when Megan and I have kids. I want to have a back yard and driveway where we can play sports and have a bbq. I want to be able to provide my family with everything my family provided me. I also want to have a place that Megan and I can make our own. I want a place that reflects who we are. I also want to create a safe place for my future children. I know that when I go home to CT, I don't focus on paying bills or going to work. I am care free when I go to my parent's house. It will always be home to me and a safe place.
10) Do something I normally wouldn't do:
This is something that I have avoided doing most of my life. I usually follow the rules and do not do anything dangerous. I would always look for approval from my parents to make sure what I was doing was alright. Would I get hurt? Will I get in trouble? Will I disappoint them? I still ask myself if I would disappoint them before doing something but recently, I have been saying yes to a lot of things that I would usually say no to. In a past blog, Danny mentions that I am usually up to do anything. This only started happening a few years ago. Running a marathon with almost no training, driving to Atlanta with a weeks notice, hiking Mount Moosilauke in the biggest snow storm of 2013, and floating down the Merrimack river on air mattresses (Great story by the way. Who knew they don't sell adult sized pool floats at WalMart?). I still make sure what I am doing is legal and won't disappoint my family, but I am also making sure I don't disappoint myself by missing out on adventure.
Even though I have achieved some of these and some are constant goals that will never really be "achieved", this year is when I begin my new journey. This will be the first year that I am not in school, am at a job that I hope to have for a while, and have a partner in crime for the whole journey. 2015 should be an interesting year for me.
