Six things everyone should accomplish before they turn 18

I was blogtagged by my sister-in-law, and this is probably one of the hardest ones I've done before. It actually made me think for a few minutes about what I would say. I also decided to take the angle of "things I wish I had accomplished before I turned 18", because I found that to be a little bit easier.

1. Know how to cook, do laundry, and wash dishes. I still to this day feel a little embarrassed when I admit that I didn't know how to do these things until I moved out on my own. Luckily I am a pro at all 3 now, and I plan to make sure that all my kids know how to do them long before they graduate from high school.

2. Be able to manage money, save wisely, and balance a checkbook. Again, things I was never very good at while growing up, and even now I still have a hard time with most of them.

3. Become CPR certified and know basic first aid. You never know when you might come upon a situation where you'll have to help save someone's life.

4. Go out on a limb and do something you don't think you'll like, because you might regret it later. I have to tell a little story for this to make sense. When I was a junior in high school, I was taking a beginning drama class. There was a boy in my class who I always thought of as a little nerdy and weird. That year he asked me to go to Homecoming with him, but I said no. Our senior year he asked me to Homecoming again, and again I said no. Now, not only do I regret that I was mean to him and I didn't give him a chance, but I regret that I never got to go to Homecoming.

5. Get out of your comfort zone and try out for something like a play or a musical competition.

6. Do some sort of community service for your church, neighborhood, school, etc. Volunteer at the library, hospital, nursing home, wherever interests you. I actually did do this one summer. I was a candystriper (I have no idea how to spell that) at the hospital. I worked mostly in the pediatric unit, and it was one of the best experiences I've ever had.

Ok, I tag Jesika H., Mary P., Kate B., Sharon P., and Sarah C.