"Impossible is Nothing"

On October 4, I was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of seeing, arguably, the greatest soccer player in the world. Excuse me, futbol player. Inarguably, he is the sexiest man on the planet.

Anyway, on that autumn Saturday, I watched as David Beckham and the LA Galaxy took on the Columbus Crew in Columbus, Ohio. I arrived in the city before lunchtime and the gates wouldn't open until 5:30pm, but I couldn't wait. My seat was ten rows behind the Crew bench. Sporting a white Galaxy shirty featuring Beckham's name and #23 on the back, I made my way into hostile territory. I would have stood out like a sore thumb on "Blackout the Galaxy" night if it weren't for the many others who showed up to see the best product from across the pond since...ever.

It was great to see the turnout. A sold out game. But hardcore Crew supporters were happy to see Becks in town for a different reason. They wanted to embarrass the Galaxy captain and his mates. Unfortunately, their wish would come true. After going up one goal, the Crew dominated, took control, and took 3 points to boost theur best-in-the-MLS standing. David received a yellow card, and with it accumulated a red card equivalent, causing him to miss a future game. The Galaxy went home with a loss and bigger hurdles to overcome in their fight for a playoff spot.

But even though Beckham and the boys lost, it was the best night of my life. I was there, in person, seeing the man I grew up following since his start at Old Trafford on the Manchester United squad. I remember watching the 2006 World Cup. I always cheer for Croatia or Polan, since those are my ethnicities, as well as Germany since I have relatives there and they were, afterall, the host country. (Now before you go all anti-American on me, I did watch the U.S. team. I root for them, but I am proud of my family and my heritage. It's a big part of me. Plus, it's kind of nice to see someone other than the U.S. dominate something in the world. Shows us we are not invincible in every way. And I will not apologize for my world-view).

But then there was that England team. You catch David playing and immediately you're hooked. In the days of his ever-changing hairstyles, Beckham showed up at these games wutg a simple cut, slightly spiky, boyishly good-looking. I taped each England match in case I had to leave the TV and missed a famous free kick or corner kick from the England captain. He scores, smiles, cheers wildly, melts my heart, and causes massive flooding from the poorly constructed levees I call my tear ducts. The kind of crying that occurs when you are so damn proud and genuinely happy for someone, and you are so glad to have been a part of the moment, even just as a spectactor.

The heat during the World Cup matches was intense. At one point, Beckham got sick on the field. I must say, vomiting never looked so good...

The boys in red would end up being eliminated from contention, and Beckham would later resign as England's captain. Again causing more tears. Hey, when he cries, you seriously can't help but follow suit. But man, every time you see this guy play, you know there is someone out there with the skills and passion to make things happen.

There was a time when Beckham was not well liked, after receiving a red card in a past game. He and his family received death threats. Reporters and sportswriters everywhere, as well as the general public, criticized him continuously. He finally bounced back with a goal against Greece to lift the England team. Suddenly everyone liked him again. But I never stopped liking him.

With so many sports figures out there holding out playing until they get the amount of money they want or talking about how awesome they are before they've even made some spectacular play, it's refreshing to see a guy genuinely excited to get on the pitch every day just to play the game. I mean yes, he gets paid a ton. But you can tell he would play regardless. He is always working hard to perfect a corner kick or free kick. And in the meantime, he developed that David Beckham Academy for youth. This guys is passionate about what he does, and he overcame critics and obstacles. I can't help but love the guy.

So it was truly an honor to see him play. A legend in the world's most popular sport. Right there, a few feet in front of me. Taking in the same sights. Breathing that same cold, bitter air. Occupying space in the same stadium, on the same night. I now understand why the world loves the sport so much. I hope the U.S. takes notice.

Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with U.S. sports like baseball, basketball, and american football. But I really think we are missing out by not watching more soccer. The pitch was smaller than it looks on TV. But the feelings I got from being there are undescribable. The pictures I have are great, but they don't do justice. If I wasn't shaking so much from the cold and turned the camera dial to sport mode, the pictures would be even better. But even moreso, the memories I take away are something I will always cherish.

I'll never forget when I was walking back to my seat following half-time (and my failed attempt at purchasing a hot chocolate). Beckham was lining up to start the second half closest to my side, and I just stopped on the stairs. He looked in my direction. I'll never know if he was looking directly at me, or just around me. (But since I had on a white LA Galaxy #23 shirt in a sea of black, plus a Victoria Beckham haircut, I like to think it was me he was looking at). Once again, my camera failed me and snapped the pictures as he turned his head away...three times. But once again, I'll always have the memories.

Sandy, the older lady sitting next to me, surprised me with a Columbus Crew monkey and scarf. Wrong team, but she was the nicest, most supportive person and I thank her muchly for it. When I first saw Sandy coming up the stairs to her seat I thought "great. here comes this lady with too much makeup, doused in perfume, and she's sitting next to me." Yeah, let me say...first impressions are so overrated. Sandy is freaking awesome.

I was a 22 year old female, alone and 200 miles from home, in the house of the enemy. But I fulfilled a dream. No one can take that from me. Beckham continues to inspire me the way he has for over a decade. I never thought I would be able to see this legend in person. But to quote an Adidas tagline, of which Beckham was a commercial feature..."Impossible is Nothing"

Accomplishments...so far.

I have completed 14 of the 150 goals. So far I have: graduated college, learned to play golf, learned to dance, seen a performance at the Grand Ole Opry, met a celebrity, rode a mechanical bull, saw David Beckham play, shot a gun, tried sushi, watched a sunset, gone to Washington, D.C., donated blood, danced on the bar at Coyote Ugly, gone parasailing, and tried a fried Twinkie.

Good times. Will have to post more about those activities later on. I'm about spent now and feeling icky. So I think it's time for a work out and then a shower.

But here's what I'm currently working on:
- getting in shape (hey, that's why I'm about to work out!)
-reading the Bible (this is seriously the longest book ever. I grew up Catholic, and though I don't practice religion much, I figure I should know what the book says. See what all the hype is about).
- AFI top 100 list

You may be surprised by some of the goals not yet accomplished. For instance, being 22 and never fallen in love? Yeah, story of my life. Of all the boyfriends...never would say I ever "loved" any of them. Sad. But hey all you hot studs out there! I'm single! And yes, I have also never been camping. Recently I've been told that is most ridiculous. But it's true. All in good time...

What I'm listening to today: T.I. "No Matter What"

The Dream Book: Or Meesh's Life List

Ok. I figure if people are going to follow me on my life list journey, they should probably know what my life list is. They are in no particular order. When I assembled them in a book, I printed out pictures representing each dream and text underneath indicating what it is. When I complete the tasks, I put a star sticker on the top of the page. Most of the items are travel, because I absolutely want to travel around the world. But here it is. The list. All 150 items.

1. Venice
2. see the Cleveland Cavaliers win a championship
3. go to the Olympics
4.see the Cleveland Browns win the Super Bowl.
5. Go kayaking
6. hike the Appalachian Trail
7. Costa Rica
8. go skydiving
9. Greece
10. write a book
11. become fluent in another language
12. drive an Aston Martin
13. see the Cleveland Indians win the World Series
14. graduate college
15. learn to play golf
16. learn to dance
17. write a song
18. New Zealand
19. learn to play piano
20. Australia
21. Iguazu Falls
22. Victoria Falls
23. Angel Falls
24. see a performance at the Grand Ole Opry
25. go on a zipline
26. go to the CMA Festival
27. Poland
28. Martinique
29. Puerto Rico
30. own a jet ski
31. read the whole Bible
32. go kite surfing
33. St. Lucia
34. Seychelles
35. see the Iditarod race
36. Bali
37. Fiji
38. visit a concentration camp
39. go on a safari
40. go camping
41. visit a ghost town
42. see a game at Yankee Stadium
43. New Year's Eve in Times Square
44. visit the Great Wall of China
45. Mardi Gras in New Orleans
46. Turks & Caicos
47. Mt. Fuji
48. meet a celebrity
49. drive on Route 66
50. be debt free
51. ride a mechanical bull
52. fall in love
53. get married
54. see David Beckham play
55. own my own home
56. visit all 50 states
57. have kids
58. visit all 7 continents
59. own a donkey
60. save a manatee
61. Croatia
62. Paris
63. Tahiti
64. Rome
65. Brazil
66. Egypt
67. London
68. shop on Rodeo Drive
69. Las Vegas
70. learn to surf
71. go on a cruise
72. visit a rainforest
73. visit Waverly Hills Sanatorium
74. Mount Rushmore
75. Disneyland
76. Stonehenge
77. Taj Mahal
78. Denali National Park
79. Yellowstone National Park
80. Vancouver
81. see the Alamo
82. ride in a hot air balloon
83. visit the Grand Canyon
84. Oktoberfest in Munich
85. Monaco
86. visit all the 6 Flags theme parks
87. stay at the Burj al Arab
88. see the Macy's Thanksgiving parade
89. get engaged
90. go whale watching
91. Mall of America
92. ride in a race car
93. Chichen Itza
94. Machu Picchu
95. Easter Island
96. Galapagos Islands
97. Carnival in Rio de Janeiro
98. take a trip through wine country
99. Switzerland
100. fly first class
101. swim with dolphins
102. go skinny dipping
103. Nazca Lines
104. go snorkeling
105. Gettysburg
106. attend a major sporting event (World Series, Super Bowl, World Cup)
107. have a candlelight dinner
108. be an extra in a film
109. Iceland
110. Turkey
111. visit Madam Tussaud's wax museum
112. shoot a gun
113. dine at an expensive restaurant
114. take a cooking class
115. send a message in a bottle
116. learn to drive a stick shift
117. kiss the Blarney stone
118. see a Broadway show
119. try sushi
120. go horseback riding on the beach
121. see Brett Favre play
122. watch a sunset
123. spend the day at a spa
124. create a sand sculpture
125. watch a sunrise
126. make an anonymous donation to charity
127. Washington, D.C.
128. Golden Gate Bridge
129. buy the $1,000 mint julep
130. Panama Canal
131. take the Polar Bear Plunge
132. pay of my student loan
133. donate blood
134. dance in the rain
135. dance on the bar at Coyote Ugly
136. read an entire encyclopedia set
137. see a rodeo
138. have smooth legs (never have to shave again)
139. sit fron-row at a concert
140. win a major sweepstakes prize
141. Canary Islands
142. go parasailing
143. eat a fried Twinkie
144. see a game at Lambeau Field
145. get in shape
146. keep my New Year's Resolution
147. buy a pair of cowboy boots
148. see every movie on the American Film Institute (AFI)'s top 100 list
149. see the northern lights
150. volunteer abroad.

The stuff that dreams are made of

Over the last four years, I have been working on what I like to call my "Dream Book." Others may know it as a "life list". Basically, the things you want to do in life before you die. I have a lot of them. 150 to be exact. This list was compiled during my time in college at Eastern Kentucky University. I had it completed in year two of the quest. But after arguments with a certain member of my family, and battling depression and difficulties at school, I ripped up the entire dream book. At the time, I felt like a failure. Like I had fallen so far behind on things I wanted to accomplish, that I would never amount to anything or make anything of myself. I thought these dreams wouldn't come true.

With the help of friends, however, I got back on my feet and started completely over with the book. I remembered most of the items I had on the list, but added new ones as well. So I'm ready to embark on my life journey. If you would like to follow me on my quest to completing the list, let's go! There's a lot to get done...