My Bucket List

A few years ago I began to make a list of things I wanted to accomplish before I died - even before the movie The Bucket List came out. Currently my list exceeds 50 items - here's a little taste of my bucket list, including a few I've already completed...

1. Get a college degree
2. Crowd Surf at a concert
3. See a real hippopotamus (not in a zoo)
4. Start a garden
5. Help someone’s dream come true
6. Learn to (really) surf
7. Participate in a protest
8. Get an A at Cal Poly
9. Go backpacking
10. Help someone build a house
11. Visit Machu Picchu GO BACK
12. Night Hike up Bishop’s Peak
13. Snowboard at every place possible in Tahoe (17 total) – xx
14. Run a full marathon
15. Visit the New 7 Wonders of the World – xx
    
16. Ride the largest roller coaster in the world
17. Travel to every country in South America – x
18. Go to all 7 continents – xxx
19. Paint the vineyard
20. Go skydiving
21. Make the Dean’s List one quarter
22. Make generous contributions to important charities
23. Learn to cook well
24. Photography of surfers
25. Participate in November writing month (500 words a day)

What's on your bucket list?

the life of a college zombie

I realize that by reading this blog one would be inclined to assume that all I do is eat food because it's all about food I've cooked/baked, but I didn't take up cooking or baking until this summer. It's amazing how peaceful having free time is... if I could wish for anything right now, free time would definitely be at the top of that list. I know that I took my free time for granted over the summer, yet I was experiencing the most relaxing period of my life so far. I could do whatever I wanted, almost whenever I wanted. Now my life is 100% structure, even my weekends are fairly structured because I've been traveling with friends on the weekends and there's always an event that we have to be at next. Four months ago I believed that structure was necessary for my survival because it was all I knew, but now having so much structure in my life makes me feel like I'm in restraints - stomping through life as a lifeless zombie from one daunting task to the next; class, work, class, meetings, eat, homework, procrastination, homework, nap, repeat. For anyone out there who has excessive free time on their hands, embrace it now! Carpe Diem! Go out, have an adventure without predetermined plans, do whatever your little heart desires...

List of things to do with free time:

• surf
• dance party!!!
  
• photography
• paint
• run
• walk along the beach
• watch random TV shows
• hangout with friends
• visit the friends I miss
• find new music online
• clean my house
• fix the broken things in my house
• clean/organize/dispose of junk from my past
• read fun books
• research ways to improve the world
• have an adventure
• try new restaurants
• cause a ruckus in the world
• cook/bake
• play with my doggies
  
• there are probably other fun things I can't think of at this moment... :)
  

Life Lessons from Books.

Eat. Pray. Love. by Elizabeth Gilbert is a great book that I can only give positive reviews. However, I would advise anyone who picks it up not to rush it. It took me about a year to finish this book, not because it was a hard read, but instead of blazing through the book like usual, I savored it; letting it help me understand life. I personally believe that sometimes we stumble across books, songs, or people who are in our lives to help us find truth, clarity, acceptance or appreciation. Sometimes the most random things will teach us important life lessons. This is exactly what Eat. Pray. Love. did for me; rather than forcing myself to finish the book in one sitting I took my time and read each section with ease. By the time I finished I realized there was a direct correlation between the struggles I was facing at that time and Gilbert's struggle at that specific point in Gilbert's journey. This book is split into 3 sections - Gilbert describes it as eating her way through Italy, praying in India, and finding a balance and understanding of love in Indonesia. A wonderfully written testimony of one woman's journey to find understanding and balance in life.