I want to start this off by pointing out the obvious – I have a bucket list, and I am constantly adding to it and crossing things off. That being said, I’m torn on how I feel about the idea of a bucket list. The very name proclaims that it’s a list of items that one wants to complete before kicking the bucket. Bucket lists are essentially a list of things that in theory will lead to a fulfilling life. The problem is, from a fundamental standpoint, I don’t agree with bucket lists.
I don’t believe that there are certain places I need to see or certain things I need to do in order to live a life that I’m proud of. The most important things in life aren’t the places that you go or the big adventures that end up as posts on a blog. At the end of the day, the things that make us happiest are the little moments that we take for granted. When someone you love gets a genuine smile on their face and you get that warm feeling inside because you can’t believe that someone so wonderful actually exists, or the pain in your stomach muscles when you’ve been laughing with a group of close friends for 5 minutes and no end is in sight, or when you finally get to crawl into bed after a long day – these are the moments that make life worth living and ultimately add up to a fulfilling life.
Obviously I still have a bucket list and have a list of things that I want to do and places that I want to see. But I think it’s important to make this distinction. My bucket list isn’t necessarily a list of things that I want to do before I die in the hopes that they will add up to a wonderful life. Instead, my bucket list is more just a list of goals that I want to accomplish and things that I want to experience to make me a more well rounded and worldly person. Morality is certainly a factor in why I want to travel, but not necessarily in the way that a bucket list suggests. At the end of the day, I know that someday I will die and the world will carry on without me. In between now and that day, I want to see and experience as much of the world as possible. Even if I don’t get to go anywhere or do anything big, the relationships that I have with others and those small moments that mean so much still add up to an amazing life, regardless of whether everything is crossed off my bucket list or not.
So when I refer to my bucket list, don’t take me too literally and instead think of it more as just a list of goals I would like to complete. I wish there was a better name, but calling it a bucket list is just easy and everyone seems to know what I mean. I’m not even sure if any of this makes sense or if this is just another case of late night rambling at this point. There is one main point that I’m trying to stress with this post.
It’s not the things that we do, but the relationships we create that mean the most.
ineffable wanderlust 