The 5 People You Meet in Heaven

{good good book--I demand that you read it sometime}

I know this may sound a bit macabre, but I have a mental list of people that I'm really excited to meet once I die. They are sometimes people who aren't as famous (or infamous), but who are the awesome people behind the scenes.  I thought I'd blog about it, since I just added a new person to my list.
1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. That dude was Cray-zee. But I have this theory that the geniuses in history weren't the most sane people, and since they thought outside the box, they were able to fulfill their fullest genius capabilities.  And Mozart is the perfect exanmple of this. He constantly had music in his head and because of this he was a little weird, but by the time the music was out of his head, he had created something amazing.
2. Abigail Adams. The wife of John Adams and I think the driving force behind his success.  They were the best team.  She lived during a day when being a well-educated woman was just starting to be ok.  Not only was she was well-educated, she strongly encouraged education for her kids.  She had to live for I think it was 6 years, raising the kids by herself, while John worked in Europe for America's independence.  She had spunk and I hope I get to have a chat with her someday.
3. Frederic Chopin. I recently discovered that one of my favorite Polonaises by Chopin was written when he was only 7 years old.  He only lived for 39 years and yet he composed most of my favorite pieces.
4. Clara Schumann.  Wife of classical composer Robert Schumann.  I just learned more about her tonight. She was one of his students and 9 years younger than him and her father didn't approve of this romance, so they waited until she was 21 and didn't need her dad's permission to marry Robert.  She was really really good at the piano and was at one point more famous than her composer husband.  She would go on tour when Robert had a depression swing and, being a woman, she would have to tote her children around and be her own manager (book her own concerts, sell her own tickets, clean up afterwards, etc).  She had so much talent, which was recognized, but she was successful because of her own hard work.
5. Walt Disney. I mean, we were the generation who grew up with the classics, right? There's a reason that his theme park is the happiest place on earth.  PLUS I love how his legacy/company has remained fairly uncorrupted. The movies are still G and PG and are still big sellers and fabulous. Fancy that.
6. The Beatles.  I know some of them are still alive, but by the time I can meet them, they'll most likely be dead.  Do I really need to explain why I want to meet the group that revolutionized the rock/pop world?
7. Queen Victoria + Prince Albert.  One of my favorite couples of history.  She wore black and set out his clothes for the 40 years until her death.  One of their greatest accomplishments was endorsing the arts in England and helping the poverty issues in England.  Plus, who can really deny that it's impressive to start being a queen of the most powerful nation when you're an eighteen-year-old girl?
8. Rosamond. She was my great-grandma on my mom's side, who I didn't have the chance to meet.  This last Christmas, my mom gave the adults in our family Rosamond's autobiography that my mom worked really hard editing and compiling.  My grandparents started crying and it was a really special moment for our family.  I haven't finished it, but I'm already excited to meet my spunky British great-grandma.
9. C.S. Lewis. I recently read The Screwtape Letters and I've seen the Narnia movies.  And from what I've experienced, that guy got it.  His doctrine in some areas is a little interesting, but for the most part, I firmly believe that he's doing some great work right now.  I can only imagine how interesting a conversation would be with him and I look forward to having that opportunity.

(Sorry for you OCDs out there who are bugged by me stopping at 9)
These people have influenced my life in positive, diverse ways and I can't wait to meet them, someday.

*PS: for some of my readers who are interested in learning more about what I firmly believe in, watch this: