I had been wanting to do a summer bucket list for a while now but I always found some excuse to hold it off. Either I was too busy, I was living in another state, or I just couldn't think of anything to put on a list. There was also a part of me that was afraid it would be boring or lonely, since I'm at an age now when all of my friends are doing their own things with their families or their work.
However, at the beginning of summer this year, something just clicked and I figured "screw it, I'm going to do this and I'm going to have fun." So after extensive research (by which I mean roaming Pinterest boards for about 5 hours straight), I came up with about 23 things that I wanted to attempt to complete before going back to college.
By the end of the summer, I will have completed 15 of the 23 things on my list, which I think is a pretty great feat for someone who has always had anxiety when forced to do stuff on her own. (Another reason I pushed myself to finally do this.) Among other things, I went to the movies on my own, spent the whole day roaming around the library and drove to Hanford's Superior Dairy for some of the best ice cream in California (in my opinion).
However, there were three memorable situations I found myself in thanks to this summer bucket list. The first occurred at the beginning of the summer when I was asked to be a plus one to a wedding. Actually, I sort of begged to be a plus one, but that doesn't really matter does it?
Anyway, this wedding not only gave me the opportunity to check something off of my list (trying a new food), but it also allowed me to get a peek into a completely different culture. It was beautiful, insightful, and downright amazing. I learned about a new culture and met some amazing people. I don't want to talk about it too much because I know I would never be able to do it justice.
The third occurrence was one that I was not expecting. On the list you will notice that written in the number six spot is "find your first love." Of course I put this on the list as wishful thinking, not for a moment believing it would be crossed off by the end of the summer. Thanks to my best friend, it has been, although not in the sense that you or I might have been thinking.
Now I'll be honest here, one of the reasons for this bucket list was because I had been feeling a bit depressed and lost. A while ago, I received a message from my best friend asking if I would be interesting in writing articles online. I said yes because I figured it was something to occupy myself with, not realizing that I would find myself again. I used to write all the time and for some reason I slowly stopped.
This summer I fell in love with writing again, with literature. I've found myself, and felt more free, independent, and alive then I have in a long time. I don't think that would have been quite as possible a feat had I not chosen to go out and attempt to accomplish those summer goals
