“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
This quote by the poet Mary Oliver has been on my mind quite a bit in the past few months as I’ve been dreaming and imagining all the things that I want to accomplish. While dreaming up the cool stuff I want to see & do, I realized I should be adding all my ideas to my bucket list.
Do you have a bucket list? Things that you want to see, do, or accomplish in your wild & precious life? As awesome as bucket lists can be, they can also be a little daunting. At least for me, I look at my list and wonder if I’ll ever be able to check everything off, or even a majority of the things. I have my bucket list written down in the notes app on my phone, and I try to add to it as things come to my brain during my everyday life. Here’s what my current bucket list looks like as of now!
Bucket List
Write a book
See the sunrise & sunset from every continent
Take piano lessons again (and pay better attention)
Learn how to ski (and ski the slopes in Colorado)
Run a half marathon
Get married & have kids
Own a cabin the mountains
Zip-line through the rainforest
Swim with dolphins
Complete the Gladiator Assault Challenge
Visit all the US states
Get my Masters
Swim in the ocean
Experience the 9/11 Memorial in NYC
Take a picture every day for a year
Visit Bali
Eat Italian food in Italy
Visit Auschwitz
Go to an NFL game
See the Northern Lights
Go backcountry camping in the Rocky Mountains
Go to an Olympics Opening Ceremony
Whale watching
Let go of a floating lantern
Watch the Cyclones play in the Final Four
Read the entire bible
In all of our hustling in our everyday lives, it’s easy to write off the cool things that we do have the chance to accomplish because it seems like we are always searching for more. If looking at your bucket list makes you feel like you’re never going to get it all done, how about making a reverse bucket list?
A reverse bucket list is a great way to take a step back and look back on all the things that you have accomplished, seen, and done. I was shocked by how many things I could write down on my list, I had no idea how many cool opportunities I’ve been blessed with until I saw them all written down together. I probably even forgot some things that I could have included. Here’s my reverse bucket list (and some pictures too, for proof!)
Reverse Bucket List
Played college basketball
Graduated college summa cum laude with a 3.9 GPA
Traveled to England, Denmark & Norway
This was the trip of a lifetime! I rode on the London Eye, visited Shakespeare’s birthplace, saw the famous “The Scream” painting by Edvard Munch, laid eyes on Stonehenge, stood on the top of the Holmenkollbakken Ski Tower in Oslo, walked around Copenhagen’s Nyhavn, saw London's Tower Bridge, walked on the roof of the Oslo Opera House, watched Rock of Ages in London’s West End, walked through King’s Cross Station and visited Platform 9 ¾, took a cruise ship from Copenhagen to Oslo, amongst SO many other amazing things!
Did the leap of faith on a high ropes course in Arizona
Climbing to the top of a 40 foot pole and then jumping off. For someone afraid of heights, it was terrifying, but SO worth it!
Visited Washington DC four times
Stood by my grandpa’s life size cutout in the Smithsonian Air & Space museum and watched people take pictures of him like he was famous), went on a behind the scenes tour of the Smithsonian American History museum guided by a museum curator himself, visited the Holocaust Museum, stood where MLK Jr. gave his “I Have A Dream” speech, attended an event in one of the Senate office buildings, had a tour of the US Capital, visited the National Archives, impersonated some paintings at the National Gallery of Art (and almost got kicked out), visited Arlington Cemetery, rode numerous miles on the Metro, saw the White House, and more!
Slid down giant sand dunes at Great Sand Dunes National Park in Alamosa, CO.
Drove to the “top of the world” on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park
Touched a cactus
Got multiple tattoos that each mean something special
Started my own blog
Played the slots in Las Vegas & walked the strip
Adopted a rescue dog, Rocky ❤️
Combined an entire field of corn on my own (and a lot more since then!)
And introduced some city kids and out-of-staters to the joys of Iowa harvests!
Paid off my student loans
Bought my own house at age 25
Owned a zombie killing weapon (just in case)
Went ice skating at midnight
Played on the stage at the Civic Center in the Iowa State Jazz Championships finals
Visited Yellowstone & saw Old Faithful erupt
Visited the Grand Canyon
Went whitewater rafting on the Colorado River
Became an aunt
BEST. JOB. EVER. 😍
Participated in a Color Run (or two, or three)
Wished on a shooting star
Went paint-balling
Made an awesome snowman
Watched a meteor shower
Owned & shot a potato cannon
Visited Mount Rushmore
Ran in the nighttime Storm the Bastille 5K in downtown Milwaukee
Flew first class
Journaled every day for a year
It’s your turn! I encourage you all to make your own reverse bucket list (and bucket list if you haven’t already!) Remember, there’s nothing too small to add to your list. If it was important to you or impacted you in any way, add it! Maybe like me, you will realize that you’ve seen and accomplished more things in your life than you first thought.
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