My roommate and I watched “The Bucket List” tonight, with no idea what it was about when we decided to watch it. Needless to say, we both cried a little–and for me, it was very appropriate for the happenings of this week, with Mike passing away. 

It reminded me that I have a “Bucket List”–though that’s not what I call it. When I was 15 (1997), I began a “Life List”–things that I want to do/see before I die. I had to search for the journal, but found it, and was amused by the entries. However, I wanted to share the list–since I’ve actually accomplished some of these things without realizing it. It’s okay to laugh–some of these are funny, and definitely came from “15 year old Lesa”. 🙂  If there is a date after the entry, that’s when I accomplished it. 

1. See a sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean (2002).

2. Visit Austria, Ireland, Scotland, and Switzerland. 

3. Write a book. 

4. Learn bass guitar.

5. Be in a “rock band” (if bluegrass counts…2007)

6. Visit and explore Australia

7. See all the California State Parks

8. Climb Mt. Lassen (1999) and Mt. Shasta. 

9. Visit all 50 states (31 as of today)

10. Go to a medieval castle. 

11. Be famous. (LOL)

12. Meet Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr.

13. Marry a wonderful man. 

14. Have many children. 

15. Take photographs in exotic places (Tunisia, 2005…more to come, hopefully!)

16. Learn to use an 8-Track. 

17. Play Mandolin and Ukelele (2006)

18. Be a summer missionary (2002 and 2003)

19. Go to a NASCAR race (2003 and 2007)

20. Go on a cruise to Alaska, Mexico, or the Caribbean. 

21. Keep lots of penpals (at the time, I had about 40)

22. Climb Yosemite (I apparently had no idea which part I wanted to climb…just the whole thing 🙂 )

23. Fly an “air vehicle” (plane, helicopter, etc.)

24. Visit the Egyptian Pyramids. 

25. Watch Independence Day fireworks in NYC by the Statue of Liberty

26. Visit the Grand Canyon (2008)

27. Visit the Meteorite Crater in Arizona (drove by it in 2008, LOL)

28. Visit Yucatan Peninsula. 

29. Travel to London, Italy, and Greece. 

30. Be an astronaut (that was an 11 year dream of mine)

31. Sail the QE2, or Titanic replica, in April. 

32. Travel to all seven continents (been to two so far–North America and Africa). 

33. Drink coffee in Paris, near the Eiffel Tower. 

34. Meet Neil Armstrong and Jim Lovell

35. Be the first woman president (my, how my views have changed!)

36. Make a difference in someone’s life (this one will never be complete). 

37. Lead all my friends to Christ. 

38. Be the lead in a musical (1998)

39. Play the bassoon, violin, or oboe. 

40. Be able to play every piece of music I own. 

41. Have a garden with ivy and gates (British). 

42. Own a house with lots of room for my kids to play. 

43. Visit the Amazon Basin, Brazil. 

44. Go to Stanford University, or some other big one. 

45. Go to New England in the Fall (2007)

46. Visit Chicago when the snow melts (2004)

47. Have lunch with Tom Hanks. 

48. Sing in front of thousands of people (1999). 

 

That was my list at 15. 🙂 I can’t help my laugh at many of them. And I have a LOT of traveling to do!

Ten years later, what does my list look like at 25? That’s something I’ll be thinking about…and I’ll let you know. 🙂