Do You Have a Bucket List?

The term 'bucket list,' which refers to the list of things to do before you die, is actually an 'invented' word from the movie 'The Bucket List.' In this movie, two terminally-ill men (portrayed by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman) goes on a road trip with a list of things they want to do before they 'kick the bucket' or die, thus the term bucket list.

This morning, I encountered a feature article in the ABS-CBN News website about a cancer-stricken girl who made her own 'bucket list.' One of the things she lists down is 'to become a Twitter trending topic. Interestingly enough, she did became a Twitter trending topic after she posted her list on her blog.

Girl with cancer's 'bucket list' becomes Twitter trend

I'm sure all of us wants to do all the things we want to do before we die. Question is, how many of them can you actually realize before you die?


Back in high school, I made a list of sorts of things to do. I can't remember my time limit for that, whether it is before I get married or before I die. I kept that list in my memory vault and practically forgot about it throughout my college life and my life as a working law student. When I read the article in the link, I suddenly remembered my list and began looking for it. Luckily, I still haven't lost it in a pile of pictures, letters and mementos in the box. It was written in a Papemelroti paper, and with a neat and medium-sized handwriting (my handwriting got smaller when I went to college).

Anyway, here's what I wrote on my 'pre-college' list, edited for grammar purposes. The asterisk (*) after the item stands for things that has already been done as of the moment.

1. design my own dress and actually wear it
2. have a glam pictorial
3. go on a shopping spree
4. be on a white sand beach*
5. go figure skating and perform a full routine
6. see a real dolphin swimming by the sea
7. take a bath by the waterfalls
8. see the Manila Bay sunset*
9. learn a new language*
10. ultimate bonding with my friends*
11. lie under the stars with my loved ones
12. slow dance under the stars
13. receive flowers from my loved ones*
14. date by the seaside
15. get the most romantic first kiss I could ever have*

As I look back at this list, I realize that some of them are probably too impossible to realize, but most of them are easily reachable. Question is, how in the Earth do I get to realize them?


Yesterday, I encountered a list from Cosmo, called 18 Things A Single Gal Should Do Before Getting Hitched. As I look at that list, I found out that I haven't done anything on that list! And I'm 22-freakin'-years-old now. Though I still have a few more years and I don't have immediate plans to marry (oh, please, I still wanna become a lawyer!), I felt that certain frustration, and I ask myself how in the Earth did I manage to stay 'manang' all these time, when there is so much more that the world has to offer?

I think the 'bucket list' represents all the things that our heart desires. The question on how and when those things will be realized is a matter of conquering fears and obstacles, and probably a little bit of right timing. As for the lists that I had, maybe I haven't done most of the things there is because either I still don't have the will to do so or it's still not the right time. And really, who knows when will I realize them?

So, do you have a bucket list?