MY BUCKET LIST (an ongoing project)

Before anyone starts panicking (the two of you who read this blog, and who know me personally as well), don’t worry, I’m not leaving this mortal coil.  Well, I am, eventually, as are we all, but it’s not a planned thing.  There is no imminent departure date, I am not planning a cruise up the Styx, and I certainly have not bought/been given a ticket on the night train to the great beyond!  I have not been keeping anything from anyone.

I think that a bucket list should be kept by everyone; a list of hopes, dreams and goals that one can aim for, work for and invest time in.  It is about yourself, and only you.  What YOU want, what YOU wish for, and what YOU can actively make happen.

It’s also important to bear in mind that it really doesn’t matter if you don’t succeed in attaining all, or even any, items on your bucket list.  What is important is that you have dreams and that you go for them.  My bucket list changes, updates and has items included and excluded all the time.  This is the first time I have ever actually written it down, and by the time I have finished writing, it may change.  That’s okay.  I change on a daily basis, so it makes sense that my bucket list would.

I have already achieved many goals, now removed from said list.  For example (and not even remotely in date order):

• Travelling round Australia and Thailand, by myself.
• Jumping from a plane and free-falling for a minute before the parachute takes over (strapped to a rather hunky instructor for added bucket points!).
• Getting a BA Hons degree (and getting a 2.1 grade in my dissertation, 2.2 overall – Desmond would be proud, I’m sure).
• To be at the birth of a baby.  Thanks to my twin sister I was present at the birth of my niece Georgia, and was the first person to hold her who wasn’t a medical professional.  I will never, ever forget that experience and am so grateful to have had it.
• To visit an eastern European country (Czech Republic many moons ago).
• Leaving the housing co-op in a stable administrative position when I moved out after 12 years (and successfully fighting off the desire to have such achievement recognised – I overcame the wish for a little gold plaque dedicated to moi in a prominent position on the grounds of “eh, really?  WTF?  It’s a CO-OPERATIVE!  Oh, the arrogance…”).
• Visiting Emma and family in New Zealand.
• Driving around New Zealand with Gorgeous Sooterkin^(R).
• Gained a paralegal qualification in Wills & Probate and subsequently helped many people at a vulnerable time in their lives.  That one is ongoing.
• To play a lead role in a production by the Sanford Collective (I played Antonia in “Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay!” and though I say it myself, I was GOOD!  63 pages of dialogue I had.  63 PAGES!!!).

There’s more of course.  Some are a bit more personal, so it would not be altogether appropriate to list them here (my parents read this – no they aren’t the two people in the first paragraph, parents don’t count as readers as they are therefore emotionally blackmailed into reading this – and some things they don’t need or want to know!).  Some things I would put on my list now I have actually done as a child, because I was incredibly fortunate in having a family spread world-wide and therefore places to stay.  I have been to Saudi Arabia, Trinidad & Tobago and the United States, thanks to them.  I had wonderful, formative experiences in each place which specifically developed my beliefs and understandings.  I am very lucky, very privileged, and I know it.  I hope to share that privilege, which is partly why I write this blog.

A few things still on my on-going list (again in no specific order):

• To drive/interrail across Canada from East to West.
• To stay with Sooterkin’s family in Cambodia.
• To meet up with several of my Femifriends from the groups in which I debate (I have met up with one, which was fabulous, but there are more I admire and would love to greet in person).
• To be a Writer, and to believe within myself that I am (that one is almost there now, it is the self-belief which is lacking, but I’m working on it).
• To become a published Author (best-selling and critically acclaimed would be nice, but that is definitely out of my hands!).
• To direct a production of The Crucible for the Sanford Collective.
• To live my life according to my principles and beliefs.  Obviously this one is ongoing, and I think thus far I have been adequately successful at this…  My conscience is generally clear!
• To be the person I want to be.  Again, ongoing, but having it on the list keeps it clear in my head and I find externalising the point makes it easier to remind myself of it!

I think bucket lists are a good idea for everyone, whatever time in life.  I don’t want to wait until I have a time limit on me to do it, and I certainly don’t want to put extra pressure on myself by making them 5, 10, or 15 year goals.  If I don’t make it for some of them, so be it.  The list evolves as I do.  Some goals I might achieve, some I might not, but at least I’ll try, and ultimately for me, that is the most important thing.