I have a friend who lives in London that makes me incredibly happy every time I see her. Not only do we always have a wonderful time together, but she always challenges me, asks me questions that get me thinking about the world and my place within it.

Last night, as we were out for a few drinks at Jewel, she asked me a question that has actually been on my mind for a few days: “What are your magical goals and dreams?”

Funny enough, this wasn’t the first time I was thinking about my childhood dreams in the past few days. Early last week, I came across an inspirational video of a lecture delivered by Randy Pausch entitled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.”

For those of you that haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend downloading the high quality version of the lecture on iTunes for free.

In light of my friend’s question and Randy’s lecture, I decided to think about my childhood — actually, teeenage — dreams. More specifically: what were my great goals for my life ahead when I was thirteen years old?

Confessions of a teenage cheeseball

I recently found an old school project that I had done in eighth grade where I had listed my life goals. If you laugh, I don’t mind: I know I was a little cheesy and cutesy back then. The funny thing is, I still am.

• Be published (preferably regularly as a staff writer) in The New Yorker.
• Make someone (even a stranger) smile and really feel happy every day.
• Be the kind of father where my child honestly thinks I’m the world’s greatest dad.
• Always be aware of the beauty around me and the inherent goodness in everything and everyone.

Done laughing at my mushy schmaltz? Well, that’s a glimpse into the mind of Sameer Vasta at the age of thirteen.

Confessions of an adult cheeseball

The scary thing I need to admit now is that the mind of Sameer Vasta at the age of thirteen isn’t much different from the mind of Sameer Vasta at age twenty-six. To this day, those four dreams are still very much alive and still drive my every action every day.

And for those of you that think I’m being under-ambitious and have picked dreams that are too easy, let me tell you that getting published in The New Yorker is probably the easiest of tasks on my list. Think about it.

The other three require constant reflection upon the things I do and the way I interact with the people and places around me. They are, as my friend said, my “magical goals and dreams,” and nobody says magic is easy.