I made a speech on this once. It was for my sophomore year public speaking class, and it was the last speech I was ever going to make in front of that group of people, and thank god because all my good friends were in the class and I could hardly get through a speech without laughing or turning bright red. I started out by having everyone take out a piece of paper and write down one thing that I want to do before they die. Surprisingly, it’s not something many people think about on a daily basis — then there are people like me who live their life by their list.
This all started about four years ago when I was snowed in and was feeling creative. I decided to sit down and write myself a bucket list. Making a bucket list was not meant to be a dark activity, it was meant to force myself to be more creative and live more fully every day of my life. My OCD kicked in and I had to decide if I wanted the list to look messy or put together. Did I want to write in pen or pencil? Do I check off the ones that I do or highlight? Yes, these were the thoughts going through my head. I decided to continue writing and not worry about the little things until later.
Next thing I knew, I had about 80 things on this list. Looking back on it, some meant absolutely nothing to me and some meant the world. I have edited it over the years and I think I have truly perfected the bucket list that I am currently living by.
The things I have written down range from minuscule to severe (according to me), but here are a few. For instance, I have been able to check off crowd surfing, throw a coin in the Trevi fountain, kiss under the mistletoe, see Kate Middleton, get into college, walk across the Brooklyn bridge, board a plane from the runway, and the list goes on and on.
So what’s left? Well I need to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower with my mom, I need to skydive, name an OPI nail polish color, write a book, go to Bali, meet (marry) Prince Harry, go to Alaska, and there are about 71 other things that need to be highlighted.
I encourage everyone to make a bucket list. It's your own, its unique and unlike most things in life, you can pick up the eraser and decide that #11 doesn't define you anymore and you can change it. No questions asked. So go sit down, with a pen or pencil, and start with 15 items, and I promise that before you know it, you'll have a loose sleeve of notebook paper with the craziest things written down falling out of your bag.
