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by Joyce D. Sinclair

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It seemed like whenever I used to get together for family reunions, conversations would always seem like dj vu: "Oh, it's so good to see you!" followed by, "How's school? What are you planning on doing with your life?" I was always at a quandary as to what to say. It's such a loaded question. If I told them what I really wanted to do, there would be a series of interventions. Not for drugs and alcohol, but the kind aimed at artistic people not making money. I had a sneaking suspicion they just wanted to know my college plans. So, I told them, "Oh, I'm going to study music education." I always seemed to get the same reaction: "That's nice. Going to be a teacher like your dad, huh? Anyways, I hope you love teaching, because there's certainly no money in it, is there? Well, you should know"

So, after traveling abroad to Japan, graduating from college, traveling to Brazil, volunteering for several organizations, being in an interracial marriage and having a daughter, it's changed my views on things. I've come up with a NEW list of the ten things that I want to do in my life.

#1: Get my master's degree. I have a bachelor's degree in general music, but it's about as useful as a butthole in my elbow. I want to get my master's in English. Ideally, I would love to teach that freshman writing class that every college student has to take when they enter the university. It's the most useful class students take in college, because the skills you learn is used in every other class for the rest of your college career.

#2: Be a polyglot. Polyglot is a weird word that means you're multilingual. I speak a fair amount of Japanese and some basic Portuguese and Spanish. But eventually, I want to be conversationally fluent in Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch, German and Italian. That should pretty much cover me for traveling anywhere in the world.

#3: Publish a book. I have written a reference book on the Japanese language, but I'm having trouble finding a literary agent. I also wrote and illustrated a series of bilingual children's book in English-Japanese (and translated into English-Portuguese). And I'm currently working on another book on a historical figure (I'm keeping it a secret for right now!) Maybe, somehow, someone will give me a chance. I've just got to catch the market at the right time.

#4: Write to my congressman. And my senators, and whoever will listen. I feel rather strongly about universal subsidized child care, so I wrote a letter addressing the problem of child care in this country and offered my suggestions to fix it. I've found 25 important people who I feel might take my problem seriously. And hopefully, if democracy works and someone out there actually cares about humanity, then maybe I'll get a response.

#5: Teach my children to be the best they can be. Granted my daughter is only two, and we're planning on more, I want to teach her how to get by in this world. Some might call me a liberal, but I just want her to know that outside of her parents and immediate family, there aren't many people you can truly trust. It's important to believe something because you have found them to be true; not because someone told you to. There is no alternate to educating yourself: you can't un-know what you know. Every person has something to offer; you just have to give them a chance.

#6: Live abroad. I want to live and work somewhere overseas. I would love to teach in a university, or be able to get paid to write, or both. To me, you learn more about life and yourself when you live in another environment.

#7: Learn to play the violin. I've always admired the violin. There's nothing finer than a well-played violin, and there's nothing more hell-wrenching than one that is played badly. It's also small and easy to carry. See, I used to play the French horn and its marching band equivalent, the mellophone. I also play the piano, which is obviously unmovable. As a singer, it seems like the most convenient instrument, but the constant fluctuation of Midwestern climate, not to mention city pollution adds its own difficulties. So, the violin seems like a nice choice.

#8: Read all of the classics. I have a preliminary list of around 800 books that I have denoted as classics. It covers children's literature, American authors, British authors, ancient literature, contemporary novels, and world literature. The list is a compilation of several different book lists, and a few I added because I liked them. The thing about it is that it is designed to be added to over the years. I don't know if I'll ever finish the list, but I can certainly try to. I've read 177 so far. These are books that I feel have contributed to society in some way or another.

#9: Help the poor. When I was young, people always said, "Eat your veggies. There are starving people in China." Well, there are people here in our own communities who would love to have our veggies as well. It's hard to help the poor when you live paycheck-to-paycheck yourself. But I've always wanted to help teach some of these people some skills to help get themselves a job somewhere. Perhaps it is to type, or simply teach them to read. Perhaps it's how to dress and go through an interview. I'd want to help them create a basic resume after they've learned a viable skill. And most of all, give these people a sense of support.

#10: Be healthier and more environmentally conscious. I would love to get to the point where I buy organic foods and live in a "green" home. I also want to get to a point where I could run everyday and even maybe run in a mini-marathon someday. Not only am I doing my body good, but I'd be doing the world some good as well. Even though if every household went green, it still wouldn't have the same impact if the big corporate businesses didn't also follow suit. Maybe someday we'll live in a country that cared about its people and our well-being.

Learn more about this author, Joyce D. Sinclair.

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