I really like the vodka commercial with Hugh Hefner that asks the question: “would you have a drink with yourself?” For me, when I think about what I would tell a complete stranger about myself, I draw a blank. I was the head cheerleader when our squad won the first ever back to back state championship for my high school, I have flipped a car and walked away with simply a scratched up elbow, I have been bungee jumping once at a fair, the doctor thought I had the “bird flu” when I was a sophomore in high school (he was wrong), I climbed a mountain in Wyoming and Mt. St. Helen in Washington, and last spring I stood a whole three feet from the one and only, Corona Cartel. Up until this point, my life has been pretty boring. Though I am proud of some of the things that I have done and thankful for all of the opportunities that I have been given, I’m pretty sure that anyone else would not think of my life as being anything out of the ordinary.
This puts me in a very troubled state of mind. I don’t want to be a boring person! I have always seen myself as a risk taker, an adventurer, someone who thinks outside the box and doesn’t follow the crowd– but I have absolutely nothing to show for it. I have all these big plans for what I want to do, but I have not taken any measures to accomplish any of those goals yet. I didn’t think I would ever say this, but I honestly think that a vodka commercial has changed me. I could sit and have a drink with the person that I see myself as thirty years from now, but my bucket list is long, and if I don’t get started on it soon, I’ll never finish it, leading me to believe that I will be a boring person from now on. I can hear Ms. Throop’s famous words echoing in the back of my head: “Just do it! When else are you gonna try it? When you’re thirty? Oh please.”
Ms. Throop was always a good motivationalist-(Yes, I’m pretty sure I just made that word up, but just go with it.) If you tell her your plans, you’d better believe that she’s going to be on you about it until you get them done. As she says, “you can’t wait until you’re thirty” to start crossing things off your list because by then your plans have changed and everything becomes a long lost dream. A “if only I would have…”
So I thought the best way to get started would be to materialize the bucket list that is currently building up in my head. That way I can begin to make plans and actually cross off the things that I have always dreamt of doing. Obviously it’s hard to do some things while I’m going to school, but it’s going to be even harder once I have a real job and eventually a family, which is why I plan to become a “gypsy.” In case you haven’t had the pleasure to hear about my idea to become a gypsy, here it is in a nutshell: After I graduate I want to take a year or two to simply travel the world and try new things that I have never done before. I can pick up odd jobs wherever I land to make enough money to get me to my next destination. It would give me a chance to chase my dreams before becoming a full time employee or wife. If the gypsy life interests you, please join me! First stop in the gypsy life: Ireland with Mamie. (It’s been a long time coming.)
In the mean time, I’m going to work on prioritizing so that I have enough time for all the endeavors on my list. Here’s to the future! (And having a drink with myself…as someone who I would actually want to listen to.)
Addie’s Bucket List (I’m going to literally cross them off and write the date they were finished as they occur, so check back to see how it’s coming along!)
- Skydiving
- Mission trip to Africa
- Hotdog eating contest
- Scuba dive around the Great Barrier Reef
- Swim with the turtles in the Galapagos Islands
- Sit on a hill in Ireland and drink tea (with Mamie right after we graduate)
- Amsterdam, though I don’t plan on staying long
- Mardi Gras
- Cowboy Downhill
- Rome/Vatican (typical, but I want to see the paintings I studied in art last semester and all the references from the Da Vinci Code)
- Watch the Running of the Bulls and participate in the La Tomatina in Spain
- Surf
- Dog Sled
- Antartica (simply because, “who would want to go there?!”)
- Learn to play REAL golf, not mini golf
- Zorbing
- Salsa Dance
- Oktoberfest in Germany
- Brazilian Carnival
- Conquer Rt. 66
- Ride a Gondola in Venice
- Kentucky Derby (plans for 2011)
- NFR (plans for 2010)
- Wear a Cards shirt to a random Cubs game in Wriggley…thanks Chase for the idea
- Send a message in a bottle
- Visit Folsom Prison
Love always,
Addie
“If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.” -Nickleback
Breaking out of the Bootheel 