Autumn has always been a time of contemplation for me. I don’t know if it’s the change in seasons or the leaves starting to fall or the fact that I am in my last year of my undergrad, but it is always around this time of the year that I find myself thinking about the future.
Right now, I am sitting in my kitchen with a cup of hot coffee, watching my dog play in the backyard. Of course, this seems to be a clichéd set-up, but sometimes, these setups conjure up the most truths. And the truth is, I am making plans for my future.
I am a self-proclaimed dreamer. That means that some of the things I want to happen are pretty far-fetched. But aren’t most dreams? Everyone had a wild crazy dream and then they did something about it and that dream became their reality.
So I encourage you to sit down, pour yourself a cup of coffee and make a list of your “Autumn Somedays.” I think you will be surprised to see how many dreams you have stored away in your heart. They don’t even have to be serious or long-term – you’ll find from my list that I have a few goofy ones and some that are relatively short-term.
Just write and plan for your somedays.
Someday, I will…
- Be the next Anna Wintour. Or Natalie Portman. Or F. Scott Fitzgerald. I haven’t quite decided yet.
- Write and publish a best-selling novel that will be added the the New York Times “books to read before you die” type of list.
- Be the poet that lulls people to sleep while also preparing them for war.
- Graduate from Laurier.
- Raise a little hell once I finally move to New York City.
- Get my masters at Columbia School of journalism, when I take a break from my hell-raising. Obviously.
- Sit front row during Fashion Week. Doesn’t matter to me if it is in New York, Milan, London or Paris.
- Re-explore my old dreams of being an actress. Who knows? Maybe something will come of it (still haven’t let go of my Academy Awards dream either!).
- Give modelling a try (even if I completely suck).
- Adopt a couple of dogs and cats from an animal shelter.
- Travel to Kigali and work with the Gorillas, as part of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Foundation project.
- Become more involved as an animal activist.
- Travel as far as my mind can go. And then travel some more.
- Be a better sister, daughter and friend.
- Go on a crazy road trip with my three best friends.
- Go camping.
- Go on a vacation with my sisters.
- Have a health-driven lifestyle. Workout for the purpose of being happy and healthy, not to turn myself into something I’m not.
- Run a marathon.
- Forget about the one who forgot about me. And don’t run back to them when they want to remember how much I miss them when they leave.
- Meet Leonardo DiCaprio. I don’t know if I’d prefer to meet him professionally or in holy matrimony.
- Meet Harry Styles. Again, I don’t know if I’d like to work with him, be best friends with him or marry him.
- Conquer some of my greatest fears. Sorry, this is a cliché, but when I think of conquering my fears, I picture myself swimming with sharks or eating tomatoes.
- Find recipes that I want to try.
- Actually cook and bake the recipes that I want to try.
- Learn how to sew and make my own dresses.
- Get a small tattoo with special meaning. Maybe. It might end up being a henna tattoo.
- Become fluent in French and Hebrew.
- Complete my #100DaysofFashion challenge on both my instagram and my blog.
- Learn that it is okay to not be the best at everything. I know, easier said than done, but finding the patience to practice that is important.
- Have that great love I won’t be able to summarize with words of mediocrity or have tainted by inevitable heartbreak.
- See myself in little faces I created with this faceless great love. Preferably after we’ve had our lavish wedding of the century, of course.
- Throw a themed party. Or host a wine tasting. Or afternoon tea. Whichever one I feel like.
- Own the house of my dreams and decorate it the way I always wanted to. Or the way pinterest makes it look.
- Be able to drive far enough from the city that I can see myself in the stars.
- Practice random kindness.
- Be kind to others.
- Be kind to myself.
- Do the things that I have always wanted to do.
- Live. That’s the best thing you can do. Just live, and let live.