Introduction to an Impossible List
I credit the Impossible List to Thomas Frank at College Info Geek. The purpose of an Impossible List is to list everything you once thought was impossible, then track when you accomplish each goal and build upon prior goals. They can be any kind of hopes, wishes, dreams, imaginary ideas you wished you could do, or anything you were ever told you could never do or were not good enough to do. The more emotionally driven the idea is, the better!
I started an Impossible List in 2021 to practice building habits after I overcame the worst parts of having an ileostomy in 2018 and 2019. I went away from the list as some things got difficult in life, like when Hurricane Ian damaged the roof of where I lived in 2022.
What is Chad up to now?
I decided to make a new list after I wrote my memoir You Are Enough: How I Learned to Love Myself
Chad W. Thomas' Impossible List
My impossible list will not consist of things that are beyond my control at any given moment. I will prioritize goals that I can influence.
For example, I can influence whether I graduate from graduate school. I can control whether I apply to graduate programs and my effort to pass courses.
Major Accomplishments in Chad's Life in Chronological Order
- Graduate from FSU - Accomplished in May, 2018!
- Recover from having an ileostomy. - Accomplished in 2019!
- Live without symptoms from Crohn's Disease. - June 2026 marks 7 years since the ileostomy reversal in June 2019!
- Live a financially independent life. I must pay for everything on my own, minus the ocassional gift. - This is two years in the making!
Future Goals
Educational Goals
Formal Educational Goals
- Receive an acceptance letter to graduate school. - Accomplished in May, 2026!
- Start graduate school. - Anticipation: August 24, 2026.
- Graduate from graduate school with a Master of Public Health
If you asked me about whether I believed I would graduate from graduate school when I had an ileostomy in 2018, I would have looked at you like you were crazy and told you, "I'm lucky to be alive!"
Informal Educational Goals
- Learn the basics of HTML, CSS, and Javascript from MDN which was created by Mozilla, the owner of Firefox. - Accomplished in June, 2026!
- Publish my website hosted on GitHub. - Accomplished in June, 2026!
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Upload a blog post to my Blog once a month for the rest of 2026.
Here is the first post for June, 2026: Fight Oligarchy by Bernie Sanders - A Book Review.
Career Goals
- Type a memoir. - Accomplished in 2026!
- Publish a memoir. - Anticipation: August 3, 2026.
- Share my memoir with others who could benefit.
- Sell a copy of my memoir through social media engagement.
- Receive a positive review of at least 4 stars on GoodReads for my memoir.