by Kathryn Mora

I have a bazillion dreams yet to live in my lifetime. Undeniably, I was born with an insatiable appetite to experience and taste the new. And, I never hold myself back. To reach all my new dreams I may have to live forever. It’s not likely to happen because I’m told living forever hasn’t been perfected yet.

New ideas constantly fill my head and I start many projects. Until recently, I never wondered if I had enough time left to realize all my dreams. But then I noticed, the longer I live, the faster the days fly by. I didn’t know that would happen since I’ve never been old before and don’t know when it starts.

Fortunately, this newfangled thing called the internet saves time because it helps me move faster — that is, once I learned how to navigate it. The internet provides teachers to guide me and makes information available, like how to find an agent for the book project I’m working on. My life as a journalist was less complicated because all I had to do was pitch the idea to the editor and it was published, if he or she liked the idea. Getting the right agent for my book is like traveling to a new world without a map. It’s foreign to me. The internet is an amazing resource.

Starting a project is the easy part for me. Finishing is more challenging. Experts on the internet say to start one project at a time and “keep your eyes on the prize.” I like the idea, but it’s hard to keep my eyes on just one prize at a time.

My personal creative dream projects are partially finished and are at various stages of completion. They include a variety of subjects. My one woman play is titled, “The Operator” about a woman who experiences a cross section of life in her job as a switchboard operator for a computer company, ranging from problematic to hilarious. In my screenplay, “Prudence,” a young woman lives on Park Avenue with her mother and catapults from her affluent and staid life to a wild and colorful life in Las Vegas. “Moving Your Life” educates people about moving companies and helps them avoid the horror stories, too. “The Day My Life Changed Forever” is my personal memoir about surviving a traumatic head injury. My documentary, “Birth,” is about natural childbirth, a subject close to my heart since I was a certified childbirth teacher for years.

The project I have currently prioritized to work on until it’s completed is “Kitty & Gene’s Adventures Across America: A Childhood Memoir.” It’s a collection of stories about me starting at three and my brother, four, as we began our adventures across America with our artist mother and writer father. Since the experience had a huge impact on my life, I would love for my childhood memoir to be published so I can share it with others.

A dream I’ve fantasized about for years is to live in a sweet two-story brick house with a library and film studio. My house is on five acres and surrounded by nature, inspiration and peace. There are two enormous weeping willows in the front yard and during springtime the ground is covered with brightly colored flowers of yellows, reds, and purples. My garden is in the backyard and there are several fruit trees not far from the house. This dream is more challenging to achieve, nonetheless, it’s still on my dream list.

During my years of life, I’ve followed my heart and lived my dreams as a wife, mother and grandmother, a childbirth educator, journalist, writer, filmmaker, stand-up comedian, Katrina the clown, friend and lover. All are rewarding and priceless experiences in my life and add to my growth as a person. Recently, I’ve added background acting. I love getting into character, hanging out with the other background actors and learning what happens behind the scenes in the production. Two memorable gigs were as one of the townspeople in “Mandalorian” and a laundromat patron in “Young Sheldon.” Also, I’m studying voiceover through SAG-AFTRA with the dream to be the voiceover actor for the audiobook of my childhood memoir.

My focus is living, being present and excited to face each new day with positivity, adding to my lifelong learning and growth. I’ll continue to be my vibrant self as an active participating member of my world until I take my last breath.

Since I haven’t received a phone call, letter, text or email notification for the official “You are old” status, I’ll continue to actively live my life, prioritize my personal dream projects and keep my eyes on the prize.