Bucket List

What originally began in 2010 as a list of 101 things I wanted to achieve in 10 years is now more than anything a reminder of what I wanted to do seven years ago, of the dreams I had, of the person I wanted to become. Today, some of the items on the list are still things I want to experience. Others remind me of how my goals have changed. 

Eventually, there will be a new list. And this one may be subject to expansion or edits. I need a place to keep track of everything I want to do, and what better place to do that than here, on my blog.

A few quotes on travel, adventures, and journeying before we begin…

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” — Tim Cahill; “Not all those who wander are lost.” — J. R. R. Tolkien; “Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.” — Anatole France; “What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do – especially in other people’s minds. When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.” — William Least Heat Moon; “Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.” — Paul Theroux.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” — St. Augustine; “The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” — Samuel Jackson; “No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” — Lin Yutang; “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” — Robert Louis Stevenson; “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” — Henry Miller; “A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” — Moslih Eddin Saadi; “We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” — Jawaharial Nehru.

“Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” — Mark Jenkins

THE LIST: 37/64

1. Have a family

2. Travel to New York

3. Act in a movie

4. Go surfing

5. Learn to snowboard

6. Go sailing

7. Run for Miss Canada

8. Get accepted into BCIT

9. Graduate from J-school

10. Complete a crossword by myself

11. Hold a tarantula

12. Go hang-gliding

13. Move out

14. See the Northern Lights

15. Travel to Greece

16. Cook a turkey dinner meal

17. Swim with sharks

18. Swim with sea turtles

19. Take cooking classes

20. Meet a personal idol

21. Visit all of the major Canadian cities

22. Road trip to California

23. Go camping

24. Get paid for journalism

25. Run the Sun Run

26. Turn off my cell phone/computer for a week

27. Learn to speak Spanish

28. Attempt an extreme sport

29. Learn wine appreciation

30. Learn to dance

31. Try the Bikram yoga 30-day challenge

32. Fly in a helicopter

33. Be in the live audience of a TV talk show

34. Break a world record

35. Donate blood

36. Watch the 100 greatest American movies of all time

37. Read the top 10 books of all time

38. Write a screenplay

39. Sing in front of an audience

40. Karate-chop a plank of wood

41. Walk over hot coals

42. Sit on the board of directors of the WRYAP

43. Promote ambassador programs and create more in the lower mainland

44. See the 7 wonders of the world

45. See the 7 new wonders of the world

46. Learn the art of meditation

47. Buy a toolkit and learn to use everything in it

48. Learn to bartend

49. Seriously try 3 business ventures

50. Own a Rolex

51. Go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef

52. Attend a Canucks game

53. Order the most expensive meal off a menu at a fancy restaurant

54. Help build a school in a third world country

55. Study French in Montreal for 6 weeks

56. Speak in front of 10,000 people

57. See the Blue Man Group live

58. Go to Vegas for my 21st birthday

59. Get the lawsuit against the BCAP removed

60. Get a job in television

61. Buy a MacBook

62. Be recognized for a journalism-related achievement

63. Write a book

64. Travel to the Middle East

65. Rent a limo for fun

66. Ride a motorcycle

67. Ride the world’s largest roller coaster

68. Research my family tree

69. Buy a piece of art

70. Fly somewhere first class

71. Spend NYE in Times Square/Mardi Gras in New Orleans/Carnival in Rio

72. Eat something exotic

73. Go jet-skiing

74. Watch a movie at a drive-in

75. Cook my way through an entire cookbook

76. Take a hot-air balloon ride

77. Paint a painting on canvas

78. Try the 100 mile diet for a month

79. Attend a music festival in another country

80. Experience a unique cultural festival in another country

81. Step foot on all 7 continents

82. Enter a poker competition

83. Take belly dancing classes

84. Swim in the Dead Sea

85. Build something

86. Throw a huge party

87. Go white water rafting

88. Take tennis lessons from a pro

89. Buy everyone in the bar a drink

90. Milk a cow

91. Ride in a gondola in Venice

92. Run for public office

93. Attend a public screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show

94. Collect 150+ pins

95. Learn how a car works and learn car maintenance

96. Drive a Ferrari/Porsche/Lamborghini

97. Spend an entire day at a spa

98. Take a spontaneous trip somewhere with someone

99. Create a well-rounded journalism portfolio

100. Be successful at something nobody thought I could do

101. Bury a 10-year capsule to open after this list is done