Bucket List for Life

In skipping about the interwebs today I learned that I missed an opportunity to see the Northern Lights in the mountains surrounding my home. This is highly unusual, the Northern Lights are typically not visible this far south. I was suddenly devastated about missing something I didn’t know was even a possibility. This thought, which has been niggling at me all day, prompted this list, a bucket list for my life. I’ve written a number of shorter lists for the summer, or resolutions for a year, or even a 5-year plan, and I am not trying to discredit those at all, they definitely have their place. I want a larger more comprehensive list that can be a sort of guiding star for my life. Some of these items are easily accomplished in an afternoon or even a few days, others will take years of planning and action. And, frankly, that’s probably how Life should be, no?

Bucket List for Life: Harriet

  • Visit all 50 states in the U.S.A.
  • Visit all seven continents (yes, including Antarctica)
  • Visit at least 50 of the 58 national parks in the U.S.A.
  • See the Northern Lights
  • Jump out of a perfectly good plane with a parachute (and an expert) strapped to my back
  • Learn to ride a motorcycle
  • Fly in a helicopter
  • Run a full marathon
  • Scuba dive in an actual ocean
  • Hike a mountain over 14,000 feet tall
  • Become fluent in 3 foreign languages (Mandarin, Spanish, and something else)
  • Live in another country for at least 6 months
  • Ride an elephant
  • Go to the races! (The horse races, that is)
  • Read Jesus the Christ by J. E. Talmage
  • Write a book
  • Get a book published
  • Earn a Master’s degree
  • Earn a Ph.D.
  • Learn how to play the cello
  • Take at least one class every year: at university, a community learning experience, or a private course
  • Spend 2 weeks without technology (ideally a meditation-type retreat in the mountains)
  • Sell a commissioned piece of art
  • Own a home outright
  • Plant a tree and watch it grow
  • Plant a tree and walk away
  • Give away $1 million dollars over my lifetime
  • Start a non-profit organization
  • Fall in love. Again and again.
  • “Be the change you want to see in the world.” -Ghandi

Alright, Self, there are 30 things for your life. Get on it.

What is on your bucket list? Do you have an actual list? How do you decide what to include and what to skip?

Harriet sig

 

0 thoughts on “Bucket List for Life

  1. Erin Masi

    I LOVE your list!!!!! And am extremely bummed that I didn’t know about the Northern Lights either!!! Humph. A few things on my bucket list: to be a contestant on Jeopardy, run another marathon, and perfect the art of baking bread (why is it so hard?!). Love you!!

    Reply
    1. Feisty Harriet Post author

      I really really want to ride an elephant…preferably somewhere awesome like India or Thailand or South Africa, but I’ll take Nebraska if that’s where they keep the elephants (they don’t).

      xox

      On Tue, Jun 23, 2015 at 10:50 PM, Feisty Harriet wrote:

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      Reply
  2. Saskia

    Ooh, that is an intriguing list! Some of them I’d like to copy, some of them I’ve already done, and some of them are not my thing (I remember taking art classes in high school. I am not artistic, the conclusion is).

    Reply
  3. Stacy

    Nice list! Your list is more adventurous than mine. I also have tree planting, completing and publishing a book, and various travel goals on mine.

    Reply
    1. Feisty Harriet Post author

      Book writing/publishing, man. It seems like the unattainable holy grail of awesome, simultaneously so appealing and so damn terrifying.

      xox

      On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 5:36 AM, Feisty Harriet wrote:

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      Reply
  4. Nic

    My brother and I rode elephants when we were kids. It was after the circus and they invited all the kiddies down to meet the animals. That’s probably not the type of experience you were thinking about though.

    Reply
    1. Feisty Harriet Post author

      Not entirely, I mean, I’d take it and be happy about it, but if I had my druthers I’d have a longer, less structured ride through somewhere leafy with a pond or lake or something for splashing. πŸ™‚

      xox

      On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 7:39 PM, Feisty Harriet wrote:

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      Reply
    1. Feisty Harriet Post author

      I’ve been thinking about it for ages, but this is the first time I’ve ever actually written something down in a list. πŸ™‚

      xox

      On Thu, Jun 25, 2015 at 1:25 PM, Feisty Harriet wrote:

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      Reply
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  7. Sherry

    I don’t have an official bucket list. Going sky-diving would definitely have made the list had I ever bothered to make one. And if I ever do make one, I can cross it off since I did it for my 30th in November. I’d also like to visit all 50 states (about halfway there so far.) Your mentioning of National Parks made me wonder how many I’ve visited, and I’ve been mentally making a list since your post. I think I’m at 12. I have many more to visit!

    Reply
    1. Feisty Harriet Post author

      I’m at 14 national parks and I doubt I’ll hit my goal until I’m in my 60’s. They are so spread out and take a dedicated couple of days to truly visit. But, I’m okay with tying national parks to a lifetime travel goal. πŸ™‚

      xox

      On Wed, Jul 1, 2015 at 3:57 PM, Feisty Harriet wrote:

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      Reply
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