Do we all share milestones?

Or, do we step on our own milestones?

When I think about the many stepping stones I've encountered, I have some little and big ones that I know all add up to where I am today.

Learning Spanish.
Playing basketball like my life depended on it.
Joining a sorority in college. Didn't know that about me? Yup.
Taking the EL in Chicago to and from work, in the ghetto.
Accepting drinks from drunk men at a bachelor party in Boulder.
Finding a few rounds of roommates on craigslist. And 5 out of 6 of them worked out well!
Teach for America.
Dating. A lot.
Buying a bike in Denver and jumping on that hipster bandwagon, sometimes.
Tutoring calculus in college and tutoring 5th grade math in high school. And I didn't see it coming that I would one day be a math teacher. Blind!
Weekends at a ski condo in Silverthorne to ski, run, eat, and drink.
(Trying) Rock climbing in Phoenix and Colorado.
The beach in San Diego.

What about the big ones everyone talks about?
College graduation.
First love.
First car.
Bake "grandma's" chocolate chip cookies.
Retirement Funds.
Marriage.
Mortgages.
Babies.

Do we all anticipate the big events, the major milestones, as mandatory life events? Or, do we fret that we will be odd or an outcast if we don't experience the thrill of these indoctrinated events?

What if our milestones went something like....
first time I changed a bike tire
get lost in a foreign country and hitchhike
last time I paid my taxes and then lived off the grid
my garden grew edible vegetables
win a race or a competition
make international friends
use a typewriter to write a love letter
accidently fall in love
build a bird house for the backyard
teach the dog a useless trick
learn a new language
find the best pho in the city
live on a farm for a vacation, or for life

how much more interesting would change encounters with strangers be? instead of talking about an upcoming wedding, or a new mortgage because you bought a car, why not talk about the time I finally wasn't scared of the hens and grabbed fresh eggs to scramble for breakfast? or, why not figure out a way to bring in the dough but not give it back to the man?

As I prepare to pause the teaching career and buckle into a new, international life for a few months, I think about the pieces that make me, ME. I think about the stories I love to hear about others' lives and the ones I remember from my own experiences. Memories don't stick unless they involve my supportive, fun, and thoughtful friends. My milestones don't add up to what I am supposed to be pursuing.

The people in my life make my life - and it isn't what I do or where I am, but it is who i am with that matters the most. I am blessed with a supportive family and ridiculously fun friends.

You've been in my life? Then,  you've placed a milestone down for me to add to my path. I am looking forward to adding to my journey, and recycling stones that still have a solid place in my life.

What would your milestones be?