In the past, when I have asked my parents to do something "out of the ordinary," I have received responses like: "Well you know someone died doing that." "A young girl like yourself just got kidnapped over there." Or a common one most people have heard: "You're gonna get hurt." Instead of doing it anyways, most of the time I stick to the mediocre life I live and do something that has a lower risk level. Experiencing new things can be exhilarating and also intimidating. Life would be monotonous if you did the same thing everyday; it would actually be incredibly boring. People should get out there and try something new to cross off of their bucket lists! Here are a few things I plan to do in my future before my body becomes too old. Maybe it will spark some inspiration in you to get out and be a little bit different than everyone else.

1. Snowboarding

I have never been snowboarding, and I'm not sure if it's because I have never gotten the opportunity or if it's because I don't know many people that do it. Also, the idea at first scares me. I know people fall and get hurt doing it, but you aren't going to be a professional the first time you try something. All of the falls will hurt I'm sure, but that one time when you finally get a good run down a mountain, all of the falls will be worth it for that exhilarating feeling I hope to experience someday. (Yes dad, I could fall and hurt my knee... again or have someone crash into me.)

2. Go on a road trip

A road trip isn't going one state over and going back home the next day. A road trip is taking off from home to experience multiple places and see where the road takes you. Having your best friend, significant other, or sibling on a road trip would be so incredibly fun. There is nothing wrong with going a little bit out of your comfort zone to meet new people and experience new things. It would also be nice, for once, not to have a schedule of what you have to do or where you have to go. Just get on the road and drive. (Yes dad, gas costs money and there are strangers out there who are not as nice as us that might kidnap me.)

3. Cliff jumping

As someone who is not fond of heights, cliff jumping makes my stomach drop, but it is something I would love to do. If you are someone who loves water, adrenaline, and the feeling of flying, then this is something you should try. I cannot begin to imagine what it is like to go on top of a cliff and just jump off... to me it seems like it would be amazing. Once you hit the water, it would be relieving and scary all at the same time and as soon as you get your head out of the water, it would only make sense to do it again. (Yes dad, water is dangerous and falling from that high could give me some sort of injury, especially if I hit something under the water I can't see/don't know of.)

4. Skydiving

This is a more rare item on people's bucket lists. I have wanted to skydive ever since my cousins came and visited and took a day to go skydiving. My cousin told me he would take me after high school, and my mom said, "not while she is under my roof." So when I graduated high school, I didn't go obviously. People, like my dad, ask, "Why would you want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?" My response would be to really feel what it's like to fly and to have an overwhelming amount of adrenaline. I can't wait to do this one day. (Yes dad, I know people have died doing this and sometimes things go wrong, but what if it goes right?)

5. Wakeboarding

Going wakeboarding on a lake, or even the ocean would be an incredible experience. In the ocean would probably be scarier, but it would also be a way cooler experience. This is something else that is going to take practice before you get really good at it, but once you get up and can keep riding, the feeling would be so awesome that almost drowning 20 times before then would be worth it. (Yes dad, lakes have a lot of boats and it can be dangerous, especially on weekends like Fourth of July... and I could fall off and hurt my knee again.)

6. Learn to skateboard (and be good at it)

Skateboarding, in my opinion, is difficult. You have to have balance and stability to stay on your skateboard, while being able to steer yourself and put your foot down to take off. There are a lot of people who can do it, and I'm sure it just takes a little bit of practice to get decent at it. Skateboarding in parking garages is something I see often, and it looks pretty cool. I am getting a penny board for Christmas which I plan to learn to skateboard on and hopefully get good enough to learn a few tricks and be able to stay up long enough to feel the wind in my face. (Yes dad, I'm going to fall and I could seriously injure myself, especially my knee again, or I could run into something and get a black eye or a busted nose.)

Stated plain and simple: You can die doing anything, including driving yourself from place to place in your monotonous schedule, so why not live a life full of adventures and learning new things? Yes it is going to cost time, money, and gas. & you're not going to be this young forever... Who knows? You might actually have fun. Which life will you choose?