The notion of bucket lists never really attracted me growing up. Like most cliches, such as soulmates and love at first sight, bucket lists seemed widely out of my line of view. Why should I care about bungee jumping in New Zealand when I should be thinking about something reasonable? Or worse, getting a tattoo. What I failed to realize, though, was the sheer irony I consumed. The point of a bucket list isn’t to simply achieve everything you’ve written down but, to make the most of what you have. It guides you towards new things and experiences and helps you to not, like I have for most of my life, be confined in a small set of customs and locations. So, this past month I penned a bucket list. Who knows if I’ll achieve even any of these feats, but the mere thought of doing these once in my life allows me to experience the perceived thrill of breaking out of my comfort zone. So here we go: my bucket list.
- Skydiving
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I pulled out the big guns, I know. To be fair, I have skydived before and, in all honesty, that is the reason why I want to do it again. When my brother first signed me up for activities in Switzerland, I expect him to say something along the lines of hiking or, say, chocolate making—not skydiving from 13,000 feet in the air. I can’t say how many experiential videos or articles I truly saw because nothing could’ve prepared me for the exhilarating sensation of falling out of the sky. Don’t get me wrong, it is extremely terrifying, but in a different way. I would say I was most scared in the seconds leading up to the fall (but definitely also the first five seconds because my face looked like Squidward while screaming). There’s just something so liberating of having no restrictions and feelings gravity at its truest moment. No doubt, if I had the chance, I would do it again.
- Own a Pet
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Now I know what you’re thinking: what kind of menial person has a pet on their bucket list? Growing up, my parents never really allowed domesticated animals in our house—and by my parents, I mean my mom. Granted, she did have dust allergies so there was some basis. Either way, the number of times I’ve searched “kitten videos” on the YouTube homepage is more than I could want and I’ve always known I wanted to own some type of feline in later years, hopefully sooner rather than later. And if worse comes to worst, I can always just become a cat lady.
- Tattoo
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Yet again another cliche, but a fairly reasonable one at that. As I’ve gotten older it’s become clear to me why people receive tattoos: to imprint a special meaning for life. It’s a beautiful yet long-lasting relationship. There will always be that one person who gets a drunken no-meaning design, but for every shark-flexing tattoo, there are dozens of intricate, meaningful tattoos. I’ve still yet to decide what I would even get but so far I’ve narrowed it down to one at least paying homage to my grandmother with the word “Ensure”—relating both to the nutritional drink she depended on and the presence she brought about. No matter what, I know I want something on my body worth remembering for a lifetime.
- Travel to Japan
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Listen, I’ve only watched a handful of animes so I’m nowhere near an expert. Nonetheless, it’s hard to not appreciate the beauty of Japan; whether it be the bustling streets of Tokyo to the cherry-blossom filled trees in Kyoto. And considering I eat ramen at least every other day, it’s hard not thinking about the dozens of delicious authentic Japanese food. I’ve always wanted to venture into South and East Asia, especially Thailand and the Maldives, but Japan is such a paradoxical combination of busy and calm (plus it would be a great upgrade from my make-believe photo op in Kyoto).
- (Try) Being Vegan/Vegetarian
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In all seriousness, after taking Ethics of Food last semester, all I thought about while eating lunch following each class was my guilt-ridden mindset towards meat. There’s almost no positive argument for meat in terms of the environment, animal welfare, morals, or even nutrition, yet I found myself resorting back to chicken every day. I know just how unsustainable these foods are but can’t bring myself to cut it out of my diet. At the very least, it makes sense to understand the effects of animal consumption in modern society and so, at one point in my life, I do want to attempt removing animal products (or by-products) from what I eat.
- Give Back
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This is pretty vague and, to be honest, I’m not even sure what I mean by this. I’m thankful for the place I’m in my life, but I know a lot of it is because I was born into it. My moral luck just happened to more fortunate than that of someone who was born into a lower socioeconomic status who may not have experienced as many endeavors due to the limitations of their resources. There’s nothing we can do to this initial moral luck, but the least is to be aware of it. If my parents never permanently moved to the United States, I would’ve stayed in India living a completely different life. Seeing the people in my dad’s hometown reminds me even more so of how different lives can be. If there’s any way I can help those less fortunate who have helped bring me where I am now, then I’d like to take that opportunity.