Stop and assess

So, today I was catching up on my friend Lili's blog. She had this cool post with lists of things she's accomplished and things she would like to accomplish. I think I'll copy her idea and make some lists of my own.

The first time I stopped to access stuff I've done in my life was when I applied for this fellowship at the university. I had to make an academic/professional resume with anything I have ever done academically, professional and as community service. 

I was surprised at the list but it made me feel grateful. I haven't wasted my time even in the hard times my parents voices of encouragement and confidence ring in my head. "You are can do it, Flor!" So I decided to jot down some list of things I've done that are valuable to me and things I would like to do in the future. These may change but I want to be able to look back and see how much of my list I get accomplished.

Since graduating high school I've: 

1. Had 3 kids.  

2. I've worked for 9 yrs.

3. Moved out of my hood: Houston, Texas, and have traveled to Utah, Georgia, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Mexico and Colombia.

4. Enrolled for college and finished with a Bachelor of Arts and a Minor.

5. Overcame an abuse marriage- divorce.

6. Started a non-profit organization.

7. Started a blog. 

8. Was a freelance journalist. 

9. Work at a mainstream news station. 

10. Started a community business. 

11. Photographer.

12. Short-film producer.

13. Grown a garden for 6 yrs.

14. Owned dogs, lizards, and chickens.  

15. Helped put together a retreat for a national conference.

16. Impacted the life of others through words.

17. Presented at an Education for Liberation and also at a Critical Race Theory conference.

18. Went to a Calle 13 concert.

19. Married my best friend.

Things I want to do: 

1. Get better at photography.

2. Buy a house.

3. Go to grad or law school. 

4. Write, write and write. 

5. Publish a book. 

6. Go to South America for a summer and document my heritage. 

7. Spend a summer in Monterrey with my kids y mi abuelita. 

8. Pay all my debts. 

9. Produce a movie. 

10. Sustain a business model that brings sustainability to our underrepresented communities. 

11. Attend a blogging conference. 

12. Help my dad not have to work so much.

13. Buy my mom something she really, really wants. 

14. Teach my kids to document life and create their own movies. 

15. Transform mainstream journalism and create community newsroom that are sustainable and also tell the stories of our communities.