The Bucket List

photo credit: fineartamerica.com

For several years I have been compiling a bucket list for myself, full of places I dream of visiting and adventures I fantasize about. I wrote my first bucket list when I was in the ninth grade on a scratch piece of paper and it mainly consisted of items like “visit all the Continents,” “go skydiving,” and “fall in love.” I have to admit, while my list has grown tremendously in length since this time, most of the items are still just as cheesy and predictable.

Unlike most aspects of my life and personality, my process of updating the list is not calculated, but instead rather random. Every now and then when I’m sitting at my desk, and usually in a mood to avoid doing homework, I dig through my file box, find my list, and once in hand, I can’t help but update and edit it. I have been fortunate enough to cross some items off my list already, but due to my habitual updating, there is almost always an increase in number of adventures. Stay tuned for more posts about the items I have already crossed off my list! In no particular order, my bucket list is listed below.

M Y  B U C K E T  L I S T :

Drive on the left side of the road

Ride on top of a double decker bus – ✓ Philadelphia 2014

Europe ✓ (Spain, Greece – here  and here,  Switzerland)

Asia ✓ (Hong Kong)

Australia

Africa

South America

Visit every state – in progress (NH, Maine, Rhody, Vermont, Mass, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Texas, Hawaii, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon ✓)

Take a trip on an overnight train

Go skydiving

Adopt – ✓ Shay!

Take a multi-day road trip – ✓ New Hampshire to California Part 1  + Part 2

Try something I’m terrified of

Visit all the US National Parks – (in progress // Acadia, Haleakala, Biscayne Bay, Everglades, Cuyahoga Valley, Rocky Mountain, Arches, Canyonlands, Great Basin, Lassen Volcanic, Crater Lake, Yosemite, Sequoia, King’s Canyon)

Go to a drive in movie

Graduate college – ✓

Iceland

Discover something I’m intensely passionate about – in progress (that’s all part of life, right?)

Take a spontaneous trip abroad

Visit San Francisco – ✓

Visit a wonder of the natural world

Visit a wonder of ancient world – ✓ The Colossus of Rhodes

Visit a wonder of the modern world

Go on a road trip without planning any of the destinations

Sleep in a bungalow on the water

Greece -✓ Rhodes and Mainland

Backpack through Europe

Travel for an extended period of time

Swim with dolphins – Summer 2013 ✓

Ride an elephant

See the Pyramids in Egypt

British Isles trip

Ride in a hot air balloon

Have a job I love

See something that leaves me speechless – ✓ Meteora

Great Wall of China

See the sunrise and sunset in Panama

Patagonia

Become a better cook – in progress

Fly in a helicopter or prop plane

Key West – ✓

Take a train across America