Do You have a Bucket List?
A bucket list is defined as a number of experiences or achievements that you hope to have or accomplish in your lifetime (Oxford Languages). It’s aspirational, and doesn’t have to be at all practical, but rather it is a list of wishes that you have for yourself over a lifetime. There’s no consequence if you don’t achieve the things on your bucket list, because they are not goals.
So why have one? A bucket list is a great, tangible way to remind you to dream and to want things just because you want them. So much of adult life drags us down to practicalities and your bucket list can help to counteract that. It is a reminder that life is long and we can experience new things as we age. It encourages us to keep dreaming, to keep hoping for the future without tying us down to specific goals or outcomes.
I created a bucket list when I turned 30, because that was the year that I realized how young I was. I was grappling with the fact that I was likely only 1/3 of the way through my life, and I was starting to think about what I wanted the next sixty years to look like. So I made a list of sixty things, big and small that I wanted to see come to pass in my life before it ends. I have an app (more on that in a bit) where I keep my list, and when I’m making my goals list each year, I look at the it and see if there’s anything on my bucket list that I could put some intention behind to achieve. I also have a separate list in my notes app for musical artists that I want to see, and one for musicals that I want to see on Broadway.
Here are a few entries from my bucket list:
Say hello in ten languages (I’m only at 4…)
Go to a Beyonce concert (Renaissance Tour 2023!)
Cross an international border via train (I think I’m doing this in the fall)
Cook a 4-course meal (I kinda did this for a girls night in 2019. Will likely do again!)
Kiss someone under the mistletoe
Give a talk at a national/international conference (ABRCMS 2022)
Pet a llama or alpaca (see, a small goal and doesn’t have to be at all practical)
Eat food I grew myself
Go on a solo birthday trip (2019, 2020)
Buy a fancy piece of jewelry
To keep track of my bucket list, I use the Buckist app (Android). It allows me to categorize my bucket list items (travel, health & fitness, learning, etc), as well as create tasks for each thing on my bucket list. For example, every time I say hello in a new language, I can fill in the subtasks numbered 1-10 with the language. When you achieve the item, you can add the date and location, as well as a website (helpful if you’re blogging/vlogging your bucket list!). You also have the option to make your list public, but I have not used that feature of the app. For Apple users, the Bucket App seems to be pretty similar!
