…a wanna-be~~wannabes’…

Is it a Bucket List?

How many of you have seen the film The Bucket List? This award-winning film starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman portrays two terminally ill men setting out on a road trip with a long list of things to do before they kick the bucket. The strangers meet in the hospital and upon their release the duo begin an adventure-filled trip on an around-the-world vacation.

Why do we call it a bucket list? Why don’t we call it a dream list, a bubble list, or a flight of fancy? And why do we wait until a sudden and grave diagnosis is announced before creating such an agenda? I don’t know about you but my heart chambers became filled with dreams long before leaving my teenage years. Although oodles of my pie-in-the-sky imaginations have slightly changed over the course of the last fifty years my first true passions are still alive and well and live deep within my soul, right along with the redesigned fabrics of my true imagination.

I call this my wanna “be” list and it commenced around age ten. Amazing but true this is my account. And it is still a Want to Be not a Wish I Had catalogue of events. How close  in proximity is yours to mine?

I want to be an actor, singer and dancer. I want to experience Broadway, have a part in a movie and captivate the audience while performing on stage. I want to be a size 10, have small feet and be of average height. I want to have exquisite beauty, be physically fit and spiritually strong. I want to  travel to London, Paris and France. I want to discover the Down Under, meet Howie Mandel and Adam Sandler. I want to be young again but not too young. I want to live long enough to see my grandchildren’s children. I want to become a sought after highly respected author and experience first-hand the  upfront in-your-face exclusive interview with Matt Lauer.  I want to be a motivational speaker and a mentor to our youth. I want to buy every kid in our community a new pair of shoes.

The fact is my wanna “be” list has now transpired into my bucket list. I can execute being young again since age is only a state of mind. After-all the new fifty is forty, so that would make my thirty-five year old daughter only twenty-five which makes me closer to forty than sixty.

Don’t wait to create you bucket list. Dream now. Dream big. Dream often. And never lose hope. How about you? What’s on your list? I challenge you too check it today.

 Live Life to its Fullest and Follow Your Dreams

Remember to check my articles over on Associated Content under J. Espy and while you’re there why don’t you sign up to publish on Yahoo.

see you soon…

 “Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.” -Louisa May Alcott

~~~a “12” year old crush~~

There he stood

Before my eyes

The boy that I would marry

And it would be his best surprise

Let’s just call him Harry.

Only twelve years old were we

And in the 7th grade

He just always goofed around

So I came to his aid.

Mistaking his request for love

I did his homework

He was having all the fun

While I became his clerk.

It was not a bad thing

For love is sometimes blind

I‘d do it once all over again

And make him pay the fine.

Three months came and went that year of 1963

With our little bitty lie

All because I wanted

To be the star in his eye.

When the teacher found out

He didn’t do the work

She was not very happy

She just stood and shirked

The moral of this story

Is never fall in love

With a boy you hardly know

That you can write of.

So life is great beyond compare

To any other thing

I’m so glad to have experienced

This tiny little ding.

See you soon is what I say

To each and everyone

Until we meet good-night for now

For you alone can make your life

“The very best homerun!”

  See you soon!

Every life has a story.
– A&E Biography –

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SkillsUSA…The Northern Neck Technical Center

What is SkillsUSAVirginia?  This is the student organization for students enrolled in career and technical occupations in Virginia’s high schools and community colleges. It’s good for technical education in the following ways:

• SkillsUSA Virginia connects to business
• SkillsUSA Virginia gets students into the community
• SkillsUSA Virginia gets students in the news
• SkillsUSA Virginia speaks and is heard
  • Legislation
  • Business
  • Public

On Saturday, April 2^nd I had the privilege to attend the SkillsUSA Virginia State Conference in Hampton, Virginia with the Northern Neck Technical Center.  Several students in various trades from NNTC participated in hopes of becoming the champion in their respective field. Fifteen districts from around the Commonwealth were represented for this annual event. Competition is fierce and students work hard to qualify for an entry and the opportunity to compete.

Arriving at the Hampton Coliseum by 6:15AM made for an early morning and an exceptionally long day. Students from all districts were required to take a written test prior to the actual competitions.  Contestants were furnished five hours to complete their tasks commencing at 8:00AM and finishing at 1:00PM. A large group of students, teachers, parents and visitors were shuttled via bus at 7:30AM to off site locations for various competitions.

The leadership team of Randy Long and Todd Davis from NNTC had several teachers and students compete for one of the top five place winners. It was enjoyable to see the positive interaction and dedicated commitment between the administrators and faculty  with the students. I could instantly acquaint the delight each felt for their particular student and the appreciation for one another.

The Awards Ceremony took place at 7:00PM. Girls were required to wear black skirts and white blouses while the guys were in collared shirts and ties. All winners receiving their personal award were clad in a red jacket, a requirement of SkillsUSA. Northern Neck Technical Center picked-up several wins with the following students:

• Scott Newsome – 1^st place (RHS) Auto Body (teacher Matt Ingram)                                                        
• Chris Feathers – 1^st place (Essex High) Auto Body (teacher Matt Ingram)
• Kamron Sprouse – 3^rd place (W&L) Carpentry (teacher Mike Sisson)

We arrived back to NNTC around midnight, exhausted with delight. It was an exceptional day with a terrific outcome and I can’t wait to do it again next year.

Note:  Information taken from SkillsUSA Virginia website:                                                  

http://www.vaskillsusa.org/