Bucket List

“Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.” J.D. Salinger-Catcher in the Rye

Life is a game. J.D. Salinger’s famous quote has been used to inspire people to go out and live life instead of letting life pass you by. Since the movie ‘The Bucket List’ came out, almost every person now has a bucket list of things they want to do before death. But if life is a game and we are to accomplish goals we have set for ourselves, then we must be a character in that game.

“You cannot dream yourself into a character: you must hammer and forge yourself into one.“ Henry D. Thoreau

Part of setting goals and making a bucket list is looking at who you want to be in life. How do you want people to see you, how do you want to leave your mark in the world?

I am setting up my Bucket List after Steve from nerdfitness.com. He has listed his goals like they would be in an RPG video game, with levels and different areas of playing. With each new goal reached your character gains ‘points’ to level up. With each item I reach on my bucket list not only do I get to check it off, but my character (me) will level up. Each new thing I do and accomplish I gain life skills and learn lessons that will make me a better person. Like Steve, each item he crosses off is worth 20% to the next level. I will do the same. It’s a neat way to track my progress and I will get to live my dream until I die.

So, I want my character to be a Bohemian Gypsy! Yay! I choose this character because I think it best represents who I want to be and the lifestyle I want to live. I define Bohemian Gypsy as a person with artistic or literary interests who disregards conventional standards of behavior and inclined to a nomadic, unconventional way of life. On my bucket list I will have World Quests and Area Quests. World quests have no particular part of the world they have to be done in, while area quests have to be done at a certain place. World quests, because of the level of difficultly will be worth 50% or 100% of a level. Area quests are worth 20% of a level.

Bodhi from Point Break “If you want the ultimate, you’ve got to be willing to pay the ultimate price. It’s not tragic to die doing what you love.”

Bodhi: “They only live to get radical.”

WORLD QUESTS- (No specific place)

Put my pinky toe on each of the seven continents. Once you’ve reached all seven you can truly call yourself a world traveler. 100%
● North America
● South America
● Europe
● Asia
● Australia
● Antarctica
● Africa
Find my version of “The Beach.” 50%
Attend a Native American Sweat Lodge Ceremony 50%
Obtain dual citizenship with another country 100%
The Northern Lights (the Aurora Borealis) 50%
Go on a Dog Sledding Adventure 50%
See the Big 4 in the Wild 50%
Feel the burn as I travel across a country on a bicycle. 50%
Trekking through the jungle on the back of a two story tall elephant.
Go skydiving. 50%
Go 30 days without being ‘plugged in’. 50%
Get my PADI open water certificate. 100%
Learn about and visit at least 2 of the best dive spots in the world. 50%
Get another tattoo-Alis volat propriis-on my foot 50%
Photograph an endangered species. 50%
Hire a local guide and spend at least one night in the jungle. 50%
Do the Titanic King of the World pose standing on top of a mountain. 100%
Walk on a glacier. 100%
Try sandboarding. 50%
Cross a country using only public transportation. See a country the way most of its people do: from the window of a bus, train, or ferry.
Live with a tribe of indigenous people for atleast 3 days. 100%
Choose a country and learn not only the language that is spoken there, but also study its customs, its cuisine, its art, and its history. (Middle Eastern country, Arabic) 100%
Attend a multi-day music festival in another country. 50%
Practice Meditatation for at least 30 days.100%
Get a massage on a secluded beach 50%
Collect t-shirts from around the world for a t-shirt quilt 50%
Sleep on a beach. 50%
Dive with a shark. 50%
Learn how to make a national dish for each country I live in. 50%
Meet Bill Bryson my favorite (living) travel writer. 100%
Meet John Grisham my favorite (living) author. 100%
Sleep in an Igloo. 100%
Go skinny dipping… again… 50%
Soak your cares away in a hot spring. 50%
For each year learn or try a new craft each year such as travel photography, thai chi, or glass blowing. And once I’ve got it, and if I like it, keep it – don’t let it wither away. 100%
Go on a modern day treasure hunt by trying out geocaching.
Try fencing. 50%
Practice surfing and catch a wave. 50%
Learn to say “hello” in 50 languages. 13 = (English, Spanish, Thai, Laoation, Manderian, Filipino, French, German, Hawaiian, Hebrew Hindi, Indonesian, Italian) 100%
Sing Karaoke. (this will only be done after a few drinks) 50%
Ride in a hot air balloon. 50%
Go paragliding. 50%
Go diving in a shipwreck. 100%
Go white water rafting. 50%
Dive in a submarine. 100%
Go rock climbing. 100%
Race a sports car. 100%
Fire a pistol. 50%
Go jet skiing. 50%
Take a canopy tour (traversing between trees on a zip line) 50%
Experience weightlessness. 100%
Go on a cross-country motorcycle trip. 100%
Jump from a cliff into deep water. 100%
Learn to make pottery. 50%
Learn to sculpt. 50%
Make a stained glass window. 50%
Paint oil, acrylics. 50%
Have a garden. 50%
Practice drawing in charcoal. 50%
Become a Cheese Connoisseur. 50%
Make a list of 100 books I want to read and start reading. 50%
Read the complete works of Shakespeare. 100%
Make a list of 100 movies I want to watch and start watching (30 to get points). 50%
Have a happiness project. 100 %
Make a difference in at least one person’s life.-NGO work 100%
Become an early riser. 50%
Build a Habitat for Humanity Home. 100%
Volunteer at a soup kitchen. 50%
Volunteer in the Peace Corps. 100%
Volunteer at a Homeless Shelter. 50%
Have a street named after me (on purpose). 50%
Sleep in a castle 50%
Watch turtles hatch and run for the ocean 50%
See a platypus 50%
See a koala bear 50%
Adopt a pet from the animal shelter.
Go WWOOFING 100%

WORK/CAREER

Get a photograph published 100%
Write a manifesto 100%
Work on a Masters Degree – Human Services/Public Policy/Social Work 100%
Publish an article about your travels. Part of traveling is sharing your experiences with others. 100%
Follow my food from field to table. Most people in the world still eat what they have picked with
their own hands. Why not get back to these basics? 50%
Teach English in a foreign country. 100%
Take to the high seas and work my way around the world on a cruise liner. 100%
Volunteer at a NGO and dedicate myself to a cause I believe in. Sure, there will be plenty of challenges to overcome, but if I am passionate about making a difference and helping others I can make it happen. 100%
Restore antiques to resell them. 100%
Write a travel book. 100%
Make a documentary film. 100%
Have my paintings exhibited in a gallery. 100%
Sell my artwork. 50%
Create a YouTube video. 50%
Open a Swiss bank account. 100%
Find a way to finance my love for full time travel 100%

FINANCIAL

Work up to $500 donated to Kiva.org 100%
Own a beach house. 100%
Shop on Rodeo Drive 100%
Spend a week at a 5-star spa 100%

HEALTH

Be able to do a pull-up 100%
Climb a mountain 100%
Be a healthy body/fat ratio 100%
Have enough muscle to do all the ‘adventure activities’ I want to do 100%
Increase my flexibility 100%