Bucket Lists - Goals To Accomplish Before We Kick The Bucket

I came across this website today (while procrastinating from marking essays and writing my own essay, obviously), and I probably spent a good half an hour on it. The website essentially takes you through what a Bucket List is and provides you with easy ways to create your own list of goals you`d like to accomplish before, well, you kick the bucket. Or, to put it bluntly, die.

Seriously, I can`t believe there are so many websites dedicated to Bucket Lists. However, going through the list of hundreds of bucket list goals, you tend to wonder whether you could accomplish certain goals yourself. My personal favourite lists include Popular Life Goals and 525 Ideas For Your Bucket List.

Bucket Lists are a funny thing. We never really know what this life will brings us, and I think creating a bucket list is an excellent way to have something to look forward to, something to aspire to. They obviously aren`t for everyone. I`m not trying to impose a prescriptive life lesson. I just think having a vague outline of what you`d potentially like to accomplish down the road provides a sense of meaning, of accountability. These goals are written officially on paper, statements of things you potentially want to acheive. Sure, some goals can be incredibly shallow. But others can also be quite meaningful.

I remember creating my own bucket list when I was 11 years old. Granted, I should probably update it. There are, most likely, some goals I`d like to erase. Like, for example, meeting Nick Carter (actually, on second thought...). And I`m sure there are a number of items I can probably cross out since my initial list in Grade 6.

Yet there are still some life goals I haven`t accomplished yet. And as I continue this grad life (as many of us are), I`m sure we`re all thinking about what we`ll be doing beyond this degree. Beyond the end of this school year. And so, on that note, behold, my potential bucket list items. I have no idea if I`ll ever accomplish any of these, but I can try my best, right? For the purpose of being realistic, I`ve separated these items. First, a list of 5 not-so-realistic items and another list of 8 more realistic items.

MY 5 NOT-SO-REALISTIC BUCKET LIST ITEMS

5. Attend the Oscar Awards
What? Don`t judge me. I think I`ve watched every single Oscar Awards (because I`m a slave to pop culture) since I was in elementary school. Seriously, I remember staying up to watch James Cameron make his epic speech upon his win as Best Director for Titanic. What would I give to attend the Oscar Awards? A lot, friends. A lot.

4. Be a contestant on a game show
Those who know me well are aware of my unexplainable desire to be a contestant on Jeopardy. I know, why Jeopardy? I could have picked a more exciting game show, right? Wrong. Jeopardy is made of win. Nothing beats good old trivia.

3. Be interviewed by Larry King
Which will probably never happen, given the fact that his last show on CNN will be on December 16. But I can dream, right? And plus, this presupposes that I`ll be doing something incredibly substantial with my life, enough to garner media attention, which is entirely contestable and probably not as realistic as I`d want it to be.

2. Shake hands with Aung San Suu Kyi
Don`t know who she is? Here`s an opportunity to read about an amazing woman. Hands down, one of my favourite political figures.

1. Learn to swim
Not. Realistic. At. All. I know this is a necessary life skill, but my fear of water will probably deter me from ever learning how to swim. People have tried, friends. Trust me.

MY 8 REALISTIC BUCKET LIST ITEMS
a.k.a. Goals I can actually accomplish realistically

8. Complete my Master`s degree
8 more months till completion! 8! 8! 8!

7. Read the top 100 novels of all time.
See: Time Magazine`s TOP 100 Novels list.

6. Visit Disney World
I know, right? I have never been to Disney World (or Disneyland for that matter). I remember watching that Full House episode when the Tanner household visits Disney World and wanting desperately to go. One day, I`ll get there. And, I promise you, I will ride that elusive teacup, no matter how old I am.

5. Go on a Global Expeditions international missions trip.
I don`t know when I`ll have time to actually do this, but I hope that, perhaps one summer a couple of years from now, I will.

4. Get into law school
I`m not going to expand on this. I`m sure if you`ve spoken to me lately, the words `law school applications` induce a semi-deranged panic attack.

3. Travel to every continent
I want to travel. Everywhere. And while that may not be feasible right now, I will find a way to make sure I visit the island of Santorini, visit the Grand Canyon, watch a soccer game in Madrid, ride a gondola in Venice, and more than I can probably list on this blog post. EUROTRIP 2011? Here we go!

2. Go on a shopping spree at Harrods
Because I`m shallow like that. Although I don`t know if I`d actually be spending time purchasing actual clothing items. Because I`d be sorely tempted to sit in Harrod`s location of Laduree to eat macaroons all day (which, by the way, are amazing. My parents ate the entire box of Laduree macaroons I brought home from Europe the minute I arrived back in Canada).

1. Write a book
I want to write a book. I don`t know what it`ll be about. I don`t know if it`ll end up on the shelves with fiction novels or if it`ll lean towards non-fiction. I definitely know I won`t write about why America is evil (we`ll leave that to Naomi Klein) or on aspects of political theory I know nothing about. All I know is that one day, I want to write a book. One day.

As I`ve said, we never really know what this life will brings us. Perhaps one day, the not-so-realistic will actually become more realistic than I can currently imagine. Or, perhaps one day, when I kick the bucket, not all my realistic goals were fulfilled. I suppose the main point of creating a Bucket list is to have something to look forward to. And the most important thing is to try our best. At the end of the day, that`s what matters the most, yea?

If you so choose, Happy Bucket List writing, friends!

"When we truly discover love, capitalism won't be possible and communism won't be necessary."

“To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
- Anne Frank