...one time in grade school my friends found a to do list i wrote and added 3 final to dos...smoke...masturbate...cry...my mom found the list a day later and was waiting for me when i got home from school...she says i found your list and i had no clue what she was talking about and then she showed me...to this day the funniest thing about that list is my mom really thought i had to remind myself to smoke, masturbate and cry...oh my poor mother...
Wow *I* feel blessed that you came upon this list just so I could eventually read this piece. I’ve never thought about it before, but you’re so write, lists are this super intimate thing we create. What an interesting dive into this unknown persons world. Loved it Sandra!
I feel like you uncovered and articulated a middle ground where most people are able to express themselves. Writing an essay or more "complicated" stuff like that, is away for most people in terms of time and effort; random thoughts on a paper are too ambiguos or disconnected to have universal meaning, but lists are the middle ground, accesible to everyone and usually following a pattern or umbrella topic.
"Because everything on that list, and any list, represents a smidge of the process of becoming." What a brilliant and accurate line.
Also, what an amazing act you did, rescuing this list, not only saving it from oblivion but managing to extol its value and bring a memorable appreciation for us in the process.
And the whole thing made me remember the many lists I have made, and the feelings I get when I purposefully or accidentally revisit them. It's a quick view through the window into the past, my past, my past self. Some I like, some I don't (mostly the ones I didn't accomplish even though I wanted to).
But definitely viewing lists with a different angle now!
That is a great point! Lists are light lifts compared to essays, or other long form writing. But they also work to help you think things through and communicate ideas in a similar way.
An essay outline is basically just a list.
I can relate to what you're saying about revisiting lists. Initially, I had a little bit about that and how it can be empowering or discouraging to revisit them, depending on what the list is about. They can definitely reveal growth or a lack of, or simply change.
I have a lot of lists written in my journals, and it's funny how redundant they are for long stretches of time. Especially things I really wanted or wanted to do. In retrospect, I'm like, what took you so long?! Or like, wow, I STILL haven't checked this thing off?!
This list was waiting for you to find it! I love that the list maker is yearning for a deeper connection with others through these activities… or maybe a deeper connection with themselves?! 🧐
“But there’s an order and disorder within lists. The interplay between something planned and intended versus spontaneity and what real life brings…Lists can’t capture the unexpected. What may or may not happen.” Lists give me anxiety because I feel like once I write them, they become a contract that I have to commit myself to doing 😂 but I’m really feeling the idea of a list being “…mirrors of our evolution, marking our different aspirations and desires…raw wants, dreams, hopes, and intentions.” I’m open to trying to write lists for the same reason I write essays, to make these dreams or aspirations real by seeing them written by my own hand on a piece of paper. Thank you for sharing this found artifact and all your unique insights into lists!
Maybe, it's more helpful to think of them as a list of fun possibilities. Make it a game. Close your eyes and just pick something randomly and that's all you gotta do lol Then reward yourself for playing. Be free, Liz!!
Hahaha! Mitchell, that's kind of a scary thought. I'm sure they would be very confused why a stranger on the internet is over-romanticizing and analyzing their list. I would hope not anger!
Interesting! The context around lists is probably important if you're hanging onto them with the intent to revisit. What you said is how I feel about notes I take. So many notes without enough context that they feel useless to future me. But maybe sometimes in the moment it's just about externalizing what's in the brain so it doesn't matter that they make sense in the future. 🤷🏻♀️
What a fascinating find. A peak into a stranger's mind. I'd tack that list on my fridge to remind me of how human we all are.
Ooh that's a beautiful idea, Yehudis!
May we never forget how human we all are.
...one time in grade school my friends found a to do list i wrote and added 3 final to dos...smoke...masturbate...cry...my mom found the list a day later and was waiting for me when i got home from school...she says i found your list and i had no clue what she was talking about and then she showed me...to this day the funniest thing about that list is my mom really thought i had to remind myself to smoke, masturbate and cry...oh my poor mother...
Love that "cry" was on that list. Can't smoke & masturbate without feeling your feelings!!
This is hilarious.
Wow *I* feel blessed that you came upon this list just so I could eventually read this piece. I’ve never thought about it before, but you’re so write, lists are this super intimate thing we create. What an interesting dive into this unknown persons world. Loved it Sandra!
Thank you, GoOoOoose!
Show me all your lists.
Tell me all your secrets.
Excellently put... I am a list guy myself. I need them to organize all there is to do every day in this wonderful existence we call life! Thank you!
A fellow list-maker, hello! I'm right there with you.
Thank you for stopping by, reading, and sharing your thoughts, Dave!
I feel like you uncovered and articulated a middle ground where most people are able to express themselves. Writing an essay or more "complicated" stuff like that, is away for most people in terms of time and effort; random thoughts on a paper are too ambiguos or disconnected to have universal meaning, but lists are the middle ground, accesible to everyone and usually following a pattern or umbrella topic.
"Because everything on that list, and any list, represents a smidge of the process of becoming." What a brilliant and accurate line.
Also, what an amazing act you did, rescuing this list, not only saving it from oblivion but managing to extol its value and bring a memorable appreciation for us in the process.
And the whole thing made me remember the many lists I have made, and the feelings I get when I purposefully or accidentally revisit them. It's a quick view through the window into the past, my past, my past self. Some I like, some I don't (mostly the ones I didn't accomplish even though I wanted to).
But definitely viewing lists with a different angle now!
That is a great point! Lists are light lifts compared to essays, or other long form writing. But they also work to help you think things through and communicate ideas in a similar way.
An essay outline is basically just a list.
I can relate to what you're saying about revisiting lists. Initially, I had a little bit about that and how it can be empowering or discouraging to revisit them, depending on what the list is about. They can definitely reveal growth or a lack of, or simply change.
I have a lot of lists written in my journals, and it's funny how redundant they are for long stretches of time. Especially things I really wanted or wanted to do. In retrospect, I'm like, what took you so long?! Or like, wow, I STILL haven't checked this thing off?!
This list was waiting for you to find it! I love that the list maker is yearning for a deeper connection with others through these activities… or maybe a deeper connection with themselves?! 🧐
“But there’s an order and disorder within lists. The interplay between something planned and intended versus spontaneity and what real life brings…Lists can’t capture the unexpected. What may or may not happen.” Lists give me anxiety because I feel like once I write them, they become a contract that I have to commit myself to doing 😂 but I’m really feeling the idea of a list being “…mirrors of our evolution, marking our different aspirations and desires…raw wants, dreams, hopes, and intentions.” I’m open to trying to write lists for the same reason I write essays, to make these dreams or aspirations real by seeing them written by my own hand on a piece of paper. Thank you for sharing this found artifact and all your unique insights into lists!
One cannot exist without the other.
Maybe, it's more helpful to think of them as a list of fun possibilities. Make it a game. Close your eyes and just pick something randomly and that's all you gotta do lol Then reward yourself for playing. Be free, Liz!!
Thank you for reading :)
My life is organized by lists, and this essay feels like a love letter to lists. What a beautiful list it was. I'm so glad it caught your eye.
A love letter to lists! Ah. I didn't think of it that way.
I am also organized by lists!! so many lists.
SHOW ME YOUR LISTS
As usual your newsletter makes me feel like this emoji 🥹
And why not 💃🏻
But why 🥹
Hahaha! Mitchell, that's kind of a scary thought. I'm sure they would be very confused why a stranger on the internet is over-romanticizing and analyzing their list. I would hope not anger!
Interesting! The context around lists is probably important if you're hanging onto them with the intent to revisit. What you said is how I feel about notes I take. So many notes without enough context that they feel useless to future me. But maybe sometimes in the moment it's just about externalizing what's in the brain so it doesn't matter that they make sense in the future. 🤷🏻♀️