I Stopped Chasing Goals. I Started Chasing Stories.

July 19, 2026

Do you remember that story with the lab monkeys that were claimed to be infected with COVID-19, herpes, and Hepatitis C that escaped out of an overturned semi truck in October, 2025 in Mississippi? I remember someone commenting on that situation, saying, “That was NOT on my Bingo card!” And that statement got me thinking.

Why the heck do people imagine having a bingo card filled with awful stuff!? I want to hear people saying these things were on their Bingo card: “Getting a Personal Record (PR) on my 5K was on my Bingo card this year,” “I got invited and went on a cross-country trip with my college roommate,” “I met my hero in person.”

I just couldn’t let that statement go—so you know what I did!?

I made my very own 2026 Bingo Card. My “Free” space was making it to January 1, 2026. Initial momentum is always good!

I filled my Bingo card with outlandish, fun, thrilling, and just a bit out-of-the-realm-of-possibility items. I purposefully chose things that were adventurous and bold—not exactly goal-oriented. Will I get a Blackout? Doubtful. Will I get a Bingo? I think so, and regardless, I’m living out loud, chasing fun memories.

When I was drafting my Bingo card, I shared the idea with my good friend and colleague, Payal Mehta, who shared the idea with her sphere of influence, who then shared it with their circle!  It is a different kind of rewarding to see ideas come to life beyond you - like a new kind of community!

Let me share a few items on my 2026 Bingo Card! Which I happen to have titled, “Unhinged and Grounded”.

Epic Wildlife Experience

For spring break, my family and I decided on a trip to the Oregon Coast, specifically to Depoe Bay, though we had planned to make our way south to the Sea Lion Caves. The Oregon Coast is just so rich with its shoreline formations that each nook and cranny of the coast feels like you’re in a new microcosm ecosystem. On our way to the Sea Lion Caves, we popped in at several parks, pullouts, and shops. After exploring the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, we were getting a bit hungry, so we went to Newport, Oregon, for some lunch.

We got out of the car, and it sounded like a pack of dogs were barking. We went to investigate because it was coming from a dock right near where we planned for lunch. It was a blubber-to-blubber gaggle of Sea Lions soaking in the sun. There must have been 130 Sea Lions. We watched them for about 10 minutes before our growling stomachs urged us into the restaurant. We were asked if we wanted to sit outside, and to our dismay, we were basically eating lunch with those 130 Sea Lions. They were LOUD. They were STINKY. And the whole experience was EPIC.

Sleep in a Tree House

As a Board Member for our WA State Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, I make an effort to attend many of our events. We decided that, as a family, we would make a weekend of going to the Construction Hike for Hope event in Snohomish, WA—just under 2 hours from where we live—which happens to be near some very popular tree houses! During our Oregon trip, we booked the tree house stay. The property was adjacent to a stream, had a huge deck that overlooked the ravine to the stream, a wood-barrel hot tub, and was just a short drive to our event.

Have you ever stayed in a tiny house? Well, this was basically a tiny house built into the ravine, with trees coming up through the deck. I went down to the stream with my daughter, and we played music together (her on a violin and me playing a Native American flute). It was magical to be “amongst the trees.” I did some writing, some resting, and the hottest hot tub soak of my life!

View from our tree house in Sultan, WA in June, 2026

Go on a Retreat

As I write this, I am flying 30,000+ feet in the air somewhere above North Dakota, headed to 100+ degree Baltimore, Maryland, weather for a Long-Term Suicide Loss Survivor Summit. Over 250 people are coming from across the country to collectively share stories, continue our healing journeys, and just pause to reflect on our loss. I won’t lie, it was hard to leave home and make space for this right now.

The to-do lists of life are long, my kiddo is on summer break, the puppy needs more training, and my hubby is going through some significant changes at work.

Even though things are happening at the speed of life, I am scheduling out time to retreat. To pause, reflect, and continue my healing journey. The agenda options are so enticing: art, writing, walking, yoga, keynote speakers, and I can’t wait to share about it afterward and color in that Bingo square!

Me at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland - July, 2026. Photo Credit Payal Mehta.

A Celebrity Wearing My Earrings

Here’s a Bingo square yet to be colored in.

First, who am I considering a “celebrity”? I asked ChatGPT to help me brainstorm some mental health-oriented celebrities, but those suggestions didn’t quite feel right. I have a celebrity in mind, but I haven’t sent my earrings to them quite yet.

Does anyone have a suggestion?

Do you Chase Stories?

The point of this 2026 Bingo Card experience wasn’t to race to fill in squares but to mark an intentional, live-out-loud year. At the end of the year, I’ll replace the squares with the pictures from those experiences, and it will be a snapshot of a year’s worth of memories to be cherished, looked back upon, and a nod to living without regrets.

I’d rather have my Bingo card filled with possibilities rather than catastrophes. 

So tell me, what’s on your 2026 Bingo Card?

Wear Hope. Share Hope.

Nicole