At the end of my freshman year here at St. Bonaventure University, I was feeling a little lost. It was kind of a tumultuous first year of college, and I needed to recenter and figure out where I was heading. So, I wrote myself a bucket list: 50 things I have to do before I die.
In case you’re thinking to yourself, “Addison, what could possibly be on this list you’ve created?” You don’t have to twist my arm any further; I’ll tell you. Some of the things I really want to do are: go paragliding, see the floating lantern festival in Thailand, learn how to drive a manual transmission car, and receive a message via pigeon.
A few of the items on my list are easily accomplishable and not too adventurous, which keeps me motivated until I can summon the courage (and the money) to accomplish the bigger-ticket items on my list like the ones above. One of which I crossed off just last weekend. I wrote on my list that I wanted to attend a niche festival, so I went to the Cuba Garlic Festival.
It was a blast!
My go-to festival strategy is to walk around the entire place first, so I don’t blow through my whole budget on the first booths I see, and then go back through the rows and take a closer look at all of the places I want to visit. There were people selling handmade ceramic bakeware that was absolutely gorgeous, a booth with permanent jewelry, and even a woman selling alpaca wool products.
My absolute favorite part of the festival had to have been the balloon animal guy. I love balloon animals. I saw a bunch of people walking around with the balloons, but I couldn’t seem to find him. After a bit of tireless searching and a quick consultation of the map, I found him. He had a whole list of things he could create, including monkeys, a fish, and an alien that comes with a helmet and is really cool. I chose a dinosaur that is currently sitting in my dorm, and I couldn’t be happier.
It might seem a little silly to have a list of fifty things I want to do, especially when some of them are so small, but I think that’s kind of the point. Not everything on my list has to be some huge, life-changing experience.
Making this list gave me things to look forward to, but it also reminded me that I don’t need to have my entire life figured out right now. I can try new things, cross things off, and add new things as I go. I think that’s what I needed when I made the list. I needed something that reminded me that there is still so much to experience, even when life feels a little overwhelming.
So, one down, forty-nine to go. Hopefully, the next one is just as fun, and maybe someday I’ll finally get that message via pigeon.