If someone gave you a paper and pen and asked you to write a list today of everything you want to complete and achieve over the course of your life, what would you write? What seemingly small missions would you hope to check off? What large-scale, life goals would you jot down?Â
On March 28, 2025, The Life List was released on Netflix. The Life List tells the story of a young woman, Alex. When her mother passes away, she is expecting to take over as the new CEO of her mother’s renowned makeup company. However, at the reading of the will, Alex is only left with a piece of paper. At first, she can’t believe that her mother, her best friend, would leave her a wrinkled piece of lined paper. When she looks closer, however, the paper isn’t just any lined paper; it is her “Life List” that she wrote back when she was 13 years old. The lawyer hands her a DVD, explaining her mother’s inheritance. The DVD includes a video that her mother recorded, explaining that she wants Alex to find herself again. She is sending her on a mission over the next year to complete her “Life List.” Every item that she completes will grant her another DVD recorded by her mother. If she completes everything on the list by New Years the following year, she will receive the final part of her mother’s inheritance. Through her journey to complete her Life List, Alex uncovers family secrets, rediscovers herself, finds love, friendship, and more.Â
This movie was incredibly touching, and it really got me thinking about what it is that I want to complete and accomplish in my own life. My friends and I have been thoroughly discussing our own aspirations for the remainder of our lives, and we plan to create our own Life List in the upcoming weeks. While I won’t go into the exact bullet points on my own Life List, the overall message this movie portrayed, in my opinion, was the importance of intentionality. It is okay to try new things in life, but it is also important to stay true to who you are and to follow your own dreams, even if they aren’t exactly what you think other people want to see from you. In the movie, Alex’s mother sets her off on a journey to complete her Life List not because she wants to create more work or stress for Alex, but because she wants her daughter to stay true to herself and follow her own dreams for her own life, not simply the actions that Alex believes her mother would prefer her to take. I encourage you to think for a few minutes, possibly take out a paper and pen, and jot down some thoughts of what you want to include on your own life list. What is it that you want to complete? What difference do you want to make? What makes you, you? And who do you hope to become? Definitely watch The Life List, it’s a great point of inspiration.