A list. A simple collection of ideas. Of hopes. Of goals. You never know what you will accomplish within the next three or four years. Yet many people know of a specific thing or two they want to achieve within their life span. From sky-diving to square dancing, the concept of bucket lists are slowly on the rise. While a bucket list is a composition of things you want to do before you die, we are changing it up and asking,‘What do you want to do before you graduate?’
Take a mini-road trip.
Choose a close town, museum, even a random diner you’ve never been to. Find a pleasant Saturday afternoon, some good tunes and a friend, then hit the road for a nearby journey. Who knows when you will have a chance to explore the world that has been within reach of you for all of these years. Take an opportunity to see a new place, a new perspective. Trust me, it’s worth the drive.
Serve your community.
Put those three hours you would have spent watching Jersey Shore re-runs to good use once in a while. Volunteer your time to help feed the homeless, plant a garden, help at a charity or even read to a group of children. Get involved and give back; the feeling of satisfaction you’ll feel for days after is worth the missed cat-fight replay.
Live life to the fullest.
Every day, we are presented with opportunities. Whether it is going to a soccer game with a group of friends or helping out at a fundraiser, you may miss an amazing moment if you turn all of them down. Keep your head up and take advantage of the opportunities you are given. Never be afraid to do something new. Just live in the here and now and live each day as though tomorrow isn’t coming. Know that mistakes are inevitable and unavoidable. Don’t let fear hold you back; just live life and love living.
Go electronic-free.
Take on the challenge. Spend an entire day, yes, a whole 24 hours, sans electronics. Scrap the cell phone, iPad, iPod, TV, stereo, car, straightener, microwave, everything. Our generation is lacking the simple idea of what life is like without Siberia at an iPhone touch away. The 196,939,900 square miles of the world can now hover under the tip of our finger. Spending a day without electronics will allow you to free yourself of constant emails, text messages, tweets and status updates. Just lay back, relax and enjoy the day as it was before the technological takeover.
Don’t look back.
The past, my friend, is just that. Life doesn’t come equipped with a magical rewind button. The mistakes you made, the fall you took and the test you failed cannot be erased or done-over. So own up to your mistakes and embrace them. Your weaknesses, your flaws and your slip-ups are all part of who you are. Be proud and stand tall. Live for the future and let go of the past. What’s done is done and no amount of time will change that. So challenge yourself. Challenge yourself to accept your past and embrace the future. Challenge yourself to live.
Go fly a kite.
We grow up too fast. As toddlers, we learned how to talk and how to argue. At six or seven, we sought to be like our parents: living in the big-kid world, wearing suits and ties, driving and staying up past our bedtime. Then came the years of cell phones and makeup, relationships and drama. Still teenagers, we have lost touch with our childhood. We strove too far to imitate those above us and lost our younger years along the way. Don’t waste what is left of your childhood. So what the hey, be a kid. Go fly a kite.
Make your own list.
Everybody has that something they desperately want to do before graduating high school and many even have a lists’ worth. So, take a step forward and create your own bucket list. No matter how silly or absurd, write it down. This is your list, your life and you can aim to do whatever you desire. Take some time to jot down your list of goals and dreams, because you never know when you might be able to cross one off and be just that much closer to having lived your life.
