I formed my original Life List in my 20s and have only add a handful of items to get it to 150 total. Since then, I've aspired and succeeded at completing at least one or two per year. Many are destination-oriented and so I can knock off several in a few days or a week while on a vacation. It has been an incredible part of my life, a source of inspiration and provided reasons for celebration and reflection.
However, it has occurred to me recently that many of the remaining items are ones I am not as excited about as I was when I added them. Some are golf-oriented, as I was into golf when I wrote it, and I've played all of 9 holes once since then - maybe not as big of a golfer as I thought I'd be! Others sound cooler than they are realistic, e.g. ride in a blimp and float down the Nile - are those even things people do? Still others require a level of fitness to which I'm not confident I'll ever get back to - they seemed like a good idea when I was young. So I started considering whether it made sense to revise the list. One of my rules has always been that I am not going to add an item when checking it off is planned and eminent, just to check it off, so I intend to adhere to that. The original intent was to provide aspirations to ensure I lived life fully. And honestly, even though I've only checked off half of them, I feel it has accomplished its purpose to an extent; I have also had some amazing experiences that weren't on the list. As such, while there may be a temptation to add items that I hadn't thought of that have been awesome experiences for me, I will continue with the intent, so only items that have not been accomplished and are not foreseeably eminent can be added.
For today, I just want to explore what I would update my list to, *IF* I decide to modify the items remaining. To start, here are the items remaining, along with my disposition of whether to keep, modify or replace them.
Keep/Modify Pile
1 View Athens from the Acropolis - Keep
4 Dance the tango in Argentina - Keep
5 See my art in a gallery or store - Keep
8 Drive the Autobahn - Keep
10 Ride a penny-farthing bicycle - Keep
12 Ride a recumbent bicycle - Keep
18 Build a custom house with "secret" architectural features - Keep
26 Participate in a Carnival parade in Brazil - Keep, planned for 2026!
27 Spend the night in a castle - Keep
28 Tour Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany - Keep
32 Ride through the Chunnel - Keep
35 Visit a concentration camp - Keep
36 Road trip in a convertible with the top down and music blaring - Keep
39 Float in the Dead Sea - Keep
40 Help dig for dinosaur bones - Keep
46 Have dinner with someone famous - Keep
63 Design my own house, and see it constructed - Keep
64 Ice skate outside while its snowing - Keep
66 Travel India by train - Modify
67 Be interviewed by a reputable journalist in person - Keep
71 Drink a mint julep at the Kentucky Derby - Keep
80 Find a message in a bottle - Keep
81 Be an extra in a movie - Keep
82 Go to a red-carpet film premiere - Keep
83 Have something named after me - Keep
87 Drink in Germany for Oktoberfest - Keep
88 Be a spectator at an Olympic event - Keep
90 Be awarded a patent - Keep
92 See Petra, Jordan - Keep
97 Have my portrait painted - Keep
98 Send in a postsecret - Keep
100 See the pyramids of Egypt - Keep
103 Drive a race car around a real track - Keep
111 Give a person a second chance on life - Keep
112 Set foot on each of the seven continents - Keep
113 Shake hands with someone who has truly changed a country. - Keep
119 Learn to use a slide rule - Keep
120 Drive a snowmobile - Keep
121 Be in the stands when two rival South American club teams play each other in soccer. - Keep
122 Go into orbit/outer space - Keep
130 Attend the Super Bowl - Keep
133 See the Taj Mahal - Keep
138 Stay at an underwater hotel - Keep
142 Go white water rafting - Keep
147 Time Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park - Keep
149 Help set a world record - Keep
150 Open a million dollar hot dog stand - Replace
Replace Pile
3 Float along the Amazon - Replace
9 Bathe in the Ganges - Replace
13 Ride in a blimp - Replace
14 Race a bobsled - Replace
20 Watch a fire-dancing show at Burning Man - Replace
22 Golf in Cabo - Replace
25 Go to Carnival of Venice - Replace
33 Go cliff diving - Replace
60 Make a hole-in-one - Replace
70 Kayak through the jungle - Replace
77 Hike the Inca Trail in Machu Picchu - Replace
85 Float along the Nile - Replace
86 Golf through Nullarbor Links - Replace
94 Try pole vaulting - Replace
95 Participate in a police lineup - Replace
102 See the pyramids of Chichen Itza - Replace
107 Walk a runway - Replace
108 Learn to sail - Replace
114 Eat at a Shenanigans - Replace
115 Go water skiing - Replace
116 Ski or snowboard in Colorado - Replace
117 Ski in Dubai - Replace
125 Visit the statue of Christ the Redeemer, Corcovado - Replace
136 Ride a camel in Timbuktu - Replace
146 Write that "one song" - Replace
148 Do the Dirty Dancing lift - Replace
Ok, so that's 26 items I could replace. Here are some of the items I've been thinking about adding which could replace these.
1. Photograph the Southern Lights (Aurora Australis) in person
I only learned of this phenomenon last year when I was chasing the Northern Lights in Fairbanks in pursuit of a Life List item. I spent the end of the year in Tasmania, leaving on New Year's Day. That night, the Southern Lights put on a spectacular show for the entire island. I missed it by one day! Now I want to go back and try to see it!
2. Stay at a safari-style hotel and see giraffes out my window
When I lived in Florida, I fancied the idea of staying at the Animal Kingdom Hotel where giraffes could be seen out my window for my birthday. It will be trickier now, not living in Florida or having the Disney passes, but still something I'd like to do.
3. Go on a real / wild African safari
I love animals and visiting zoos and their little safari tours. Wouldn't it be amazing to see this for reals?
4. Take in the views of Santorini
I was sitting in a Greek restaurant a few years ago and realized with my love of the food and the beautiful pictures, I really wanted to go to Greece, and specifically Santorini. I was set on going for my 40th birthday, but a romantic interest turned my head and we went to the UK and knocked off some life list things instead. It was a great trip, but I still want to go to Santorini in the summer, rent a place with a dipping pool and take in the views.
5. See the brilliance of the Milky Way
The Milky Way has been eluding me for years now! I tried seeing it near Yosemite, at Bryce Canyon, at dark sky sites like Amboy Crater and Big Bend. I've captured semi-decent photographs but still haven't felt like I hit it on the mark.
When going to Hawaii in 2023, I even hired an astrophotographer who was skilled at capturing her clients in the foreground with the Milky Way in the background at the top of the mountain in Maui. I literally took a risk driving up and down the mountain in the dark, nodding off as I went, and she was shocked at how bad the sky was that night. I told her it was me, the Milky Way was eluding me. The picture to the right is a greatly enhanced (aka photoshopped) picture she provided because the sky was basically black. So, if I am going to update my Life List, I think this needs to go on there because it's something I'm going to continue chasing until I'm satisfied (and maybe even after that).
6. Compete in a swing dance competition
I've been trying to bring/keep swing dance in my life the last few years. I am wording this one intentionally a little vague because I am probably more likely to compete in a group competition rather than and individual or couple competition, but any would suffice! Just want to keep the focus on dance, which gives me so much joy and helps me stay active.
This is a risky one because I've been to Miyajima twice, even hiking all the way from the top of the mountain to the sea, and never saw them. But I swear they are there and I want to find them. On the other hand, if it's possible to never see them, I'd hate to hold up the completion of my Life List despite trying to complete the last item. So maybe not.
7. Visit Lego House in Denmark
I mean, with my love of Lego, it’s a wonder nothing Lego related has made it to my list - yet! I recently stumbled upon the world's largest Lego store while shopping in Sydney, Australia. Of course, had to commemorate the visit with a special brick they gave me for free with purchase of a set.
8. Learn how to photograph distant planets (like Jupiter)
I'm not so gung-ho about this one, but it is definitely achievable and can inspire my learning and aligns with my interest in space, so seems okay.
9. Sleep in a transparent shelter and fall asleep watching the stars
10. Go Super Sonic
A good replacement for riding in a blimp, hopefully super sonic transportation will be a reality (again) in the near future!
11. Road trip and camp in an RV
I feel like these are really good ones to replace some of the more iffy ones on my list, but there's a part of me that's still sentimental about the original list. What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment