Becoming a Big Kid: My Bucket List

"Every man dies - not every man really lives"


On July 19 of this year I will turn 26 years old, I will have lived in Colorado for 4 years, and I will be 18 days away from getting married. When I moved to Denver I was fresh off what I now realized was a very comfortable life. I remember calling my mother during month three or four and saying, "Do you KNOW how much they charge you for cell phone service?!!" Paying all my own bills was only one of the realities of becoming a "big kid." I moved here thinking I knew it all. I thought I had "grown up" in college and I was an "adult" and I no longer needed advice or wisdom or anyone telling me how things should or were going to be. The realization now? I'm still a kid. I'm still growing. I'm still learning. I'm still adapting. And I don't think that will ever change, at least I hope not. I want to be able to keep that young eyed version of myself alive... where every new experience is better than the last and the more you learn the more you appreciate who you are and where you've been. Today I am feeling blessed that I have a wonderful family, amazing friends, and the perfect partner in Matt to continue to learn and grow with me.

So many things have happened in the last four years and while my usual M.O. in blogworld would be to look back and remember those moments (sentimental me), today I want to talk about what I envision and hope for the future. A lot of life has happened and even more life is left to live. I hope I can take advantage of it:

Annalisa's Bucket List 4/15/2011

-Get Married! I cannot wait to marry Matt and start a new life with him.
-Travel. First stops: Africa, Croatia, Italy, and Denmark.
-Live by the ocean: I envision a beach cottage with wood floors that always seem to have sand on them no matter how much you sweep.
-Open a ceramics studio: a life long dream.
-Run a marathon
-Ride the cable cars in San Francisco
-Drink wine at a vineyard in Napa Valley
-Drive along the 101, in a convertible, with the top down
-Take more creative writing classes
-Write short stories
-Write a book
-Ride in a hot air balloon
-Ride a camel AND an elephant (not at the same time)
-See the Northern Lights
-Zipline through the rainforest
-Give someone a total and pleasant surprise
-Take my parents on vacation abroad
-Swim with dolphins
-Own a home
-Own our DREAM home
-plant a garden
-Continue our love of cooking
-Visit all of the big art museums around the world
-Kiss in the rain
-Explore a castle
-Get a picture in a red telephone booth in London
-Learn how to sail
-See a play on Broadway or see many plays on Broadway
-Have a successful career
-Be recognized for having a successful career
-Be invited to speak somewhere about said career
-Have babies, see Matt be a dad
-Be a good parent, make family a priority, strive to be like my parents
-Build a tree fort
-Achieve debt freedom
-Take my best friend on a trip of her dreams
-Live in another country
-Take a gondola along the Venice canals in Italy
-Go to Mardi Gras
-Learn to surf
-Stay in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora
-See Niagara Falls lit up at night
-Walk into an airport and buy a same day ticket for somewhere appealing
-Continue to see live music
-Say yes to change and accept new opportunities


What's on your bucket list?

Until next time,
A