Christmas Wish List

Please tell me that I'm not the only one that is asked every year for my Christmas Wish List, you know the list I'm talking about - right? It's the list where you're suppose to mark everything you would like to receive from your loved ones this Christmas. Systematically each family member checks off what they are going to buy you, with the rule of thumb being to vary your gift requests to be able to touch different price ranges. For instance the more expensive gifts are usually covered by my parents and grandparents; whereas the gift card type gifts - iTunes, Starbucks and others - are usually tackled by my siblings. My family truly believes that this is the best Christmas shopping method as it ensures that everyone gets what they want. It also minimizes the painful shopping experience; you know the one where you walk around the mall for hours hoping to receive some type of divine gift inspiration that will allow you  to find that perfect gift. The wish list solves all the problems that surround the Christmas gift giving tradition. There's just one little problem - I hate making a wish list! Every year I have the intention of making a list, but as I get closer and closer to Christmas I realize that I never took the time to actually write it - and the items that I may have thought of including I've already bought for myself. Meaning every year my Wish List essentially looks the same:

• Calendar
• Perfume
• White Ankle Cut Sports Socks
• iTunes Gift Card
• Tea / Coffee Gift Card

Wild gift options I know! Truth be told I want much more than this, but the reality is that my friends and family members can't get me what's on my real Wish List. What I want for Christmas this year is for "us" to do better and for "us" to be better with one another! So here's my Wish List for doing and being better this Christmas and in 2014 - thank you for any amount of effort you're able to contribute to make these desires become realities!

I Want To Have My Plans Interrupted!

Like many people I'm pretty comfortable and set in my ways. I have my routines and I'm thrown off guard when these routines are disturbed. My life is safe and comfortable and yet what I learned this past summer, is that when I surrender control, step out of my comfort zone and ultimately allow my plans to be interrupted, then there are great and exciting things waiting for me that far exceed anything that I could have imagined. I want my plans to be interrupted. I want to be willing to listen to my heart and walk away from my routine commitments if that's where I feel I'm being led!

I Want To Appreciate Every Moment in 2014

Let's face it, many of us live extremely busy lives and I for one don't take nearly enough time to appreciate the moment that I presently find myself in. Instead, I'm often anticipating the next step, which means that dismiss the goodness of the present moment. I'd be a liar if I said that I didn't have dreams and things that I want to achieve in the future. It's good to have a goal and work towards that goal - but we can't lose sight if the fact that joy can be found in the journey towards achieving that goal. I don't want to get so caught up in the rat race of life, where I run from goal to goal that I fail to appreciate the steps and the moments that brought me towards that achievement. I want to appreciate every moment this coming year and take nothing for granted!

I Want People To Be Valued, Not Treated Like Objects in 2014

People were created to be loved and things were created to be used. And yet we live in a world where things are being loved and 27 million people are being misused and abused. Far too many people are being careless either with themselves and/or with one another - socially, morally, emotionally and sexually. Every 30 seconds someone is being bought, sold and/or ordered like you would for any object - but that someone isn't an object they're a person. Modern slavery is about people; and the way we choose to fight this terrible injustice must also be about people! I want 2014 be the year where we stop "tolerating" that people be treated like objects and start fighting in a way that will allow the hopes, dreams, dignity and most importantly freedom of these individuals to be restored. 

I Want Education To Be Valued in 2014

Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affords each individual the right to a primary school education, but I wish the right afforded every person to: a quality and successful educational experience. Consequently, provincial governments would be required to take the alarming student and teacher dropout rates more seriously and come up with real solutions. So while I am thankful for my right to education and that of my students, I'm not satisfied with the fact that in some places nearly 30% of the student and teacher population are opting out of this right. Let me break it down a little and explain what these issues look like in Quebec. Right now in the province of Quebec graduation rates sits at about 70% - meaning that for a variety of reasons many youth are entering adulthood "at-risk" of experiencing all sorts of challenges. And what has been the Quebec government's response?  They have: cut funding, pulled certain resources and focused their attention on other pressing topics - have you heard about our "charte des valeurs." In turn, the demands of teaching have increased to the point where teacher burnout / dropout rates now sit at nearly 30%. Honestly, in 2014 I want my government to care more about what's in my students' head then what's on it and provide teachers with enough resources to reach every student without compromising their own health. 

I Want To Say Goodbye To Health Problems in 2014

This past year has been marked with a number of health problems for my family! I am eternally grateful for the nurses and doctors who cared for my Baba in her final days, for the team of doctors who helped my step-mom battle Breast Cancer, for the doctor that finally helped my dad quit smoking and for the team of doctors and nurses that are caring for my mom right now as I type this blog! I want 2014 to be the year where researchers find cures for cancer and early detection for cardiac diseases! I want people to take their health seriously and do whatever is necessary to either get or stay healthy!

I know that what I'm asking for at first glance is seemingly impossible, but like Nelson Mandela once said: "It always seems impossible until it's done!" I'm hoping that 2014 will be the year where we can check off some of the items on this list!

- Merry Christmas & All the best in 2014!