I make a lot of lists on a daily basis. I make lists of all the homework I need to get done. I have lists for things I need to buy at the store. Or even just have that all inclusive to do list, that usually is alarmingly long. I make all these lists to remind myself to do things that are important. Today I started to make a list that I have never made before, I made a bucket list.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of Bucket List is, "A list of things that one has not done before but wants to do before dying." It got me thinking that I have so much to do, that I better get started.
Since I am only a 19-year-old college student, I feel like I have little credibility to be giving advice on life... but I'm going to do it anyway. My advice: make a Bucket List. Push yourself to do things that you have always wanted to do but never can justify doing. Don't live life monotonously, live it with some spontaneity and variety.
A lot of people just assume having a Bucket List means just to travel but in my opinion, it can be so much more in addition to this. A Bucket List should be something you want to learn, someplace you want to go, an adventure you want to have, there should be no limits. Write a book. Learn to surf. Get a tattoo. Learn a new language. See the Northern Lights. Go on a road trip. Try a new food once a week. Whatever it is, write it down and make it happen. The beauty of the list is that it is completely your own, everything becomes so tangible about your aspirations and dreams once they're written down.
I guess the reason why I feel so strongly about this simple (seemingly insignificant) list is that it encourages us to live in the moment. It reminds us that, as morbid as it sounds, we have a limited time on this planet. Not every day has to be extraordinary but we should strive to find something that we loved each day. Even if it is something small, one can always find something new and exciting to experience.
I do not want to wake up one morning wishing I had done something differently, I want to look back on life content with everything I accomplished. I want to live my life as passionately as possible. Looking at my Bucket List, it makes me eager to get started.
Now if you've read this far in my article and are done taking advice from a 19-year-old college freshman, I advise you to go make a Bucket List and start checking things off of it.