Anyone can google “100 items to go on a bucket list” and develop a wonderful list that everyone will covet. However, I developed my bucket list as a child and it’s amazing how simple the items were that I listed. At that time, though, the items were so important and felt like events or places that may never occur in my life. Blake and I are from a small town and I loved to dream and think about my future. In 1989, seven years after my high school graduation, I cross stitched an Egyptian and had it framed to remind me of my bucket list. I had this item packed away and when Blake suggested we go to Cairo, I remembered I had it and brought it out. My bucket list keeps me going when everyday life seems to be overwhelming. When I am stressed about work, I revisit the list and am in awe of my traveling and can actually visualize places where I may go one day. It helps to have a mate who loves to travel as well. I strongly encourage developing a bucket list of travel locations and other goals you want to accomplish. This keeps me going and focused. When I see “have my own non-profit organization” on my list and realize I have not developed goals towards this, it motivates me. Traveling doesn’t have to be physically moving to another location. It can be visualizing an area or goal you want to visit or accomplish.

My bucket list is as follows; bold items have been accomplished:
Traveling: Egypt, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Galapagos, Antigua Guatemals, Monterrico Guatemals, Dominican Republic, London England, Bahamas, Honduras, Belize, Denver Colorado, Las Vegas Nevada, Grand Canyon, Seattle Washington, Washington D.C., Chicago, New York, Cades Cove Tennessee, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Boston, Panama, South Africa, San Francisco, New Orleans, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland,

Activities: Giza pyramids, cruise down the Nile River, rode a camel, zip lining in Nicaragua, photographed an endangered species, rode 4 wheeler down a Guatemalan beach, went topless in Punta Cana, received first Luis Vuitton in London, rode a double decker bus in London, held a monkey in Hondorus, kayaked the Chicago river, attended a Cubs game, food tour in Seattle, took a ferry to statue of Liberty, Disney World, Universal Studios, rode a jet ski, driven a golf cart, rode a train from Cairo to Alexandria, attended St. Patricks parade in Savannah, backpacked in several countries, attended B.F. Skinner’s 100th birthday party and have gambled in Vegas. Some of my current bucket list items: paddle boarding, learning to swim, drink Dom in another country, fly first class, horseback ride on a beach, make someone else’s dream come true, live in a 3rd world country for at least 3 months, learn Spanish, have portrait painted in another country, travel on a safari, ride a Segway, learn how to play tennis, attend a hot air balloon festival, walk across fire, attend Tony Robbins speeches in Fiji, receive a gun certificate, attend mardi gras, stop biting nails, inspire someone, have my own business, visit a village of indigenous people, develop a non-profit business

Viewing:
Watched turtles hatch and walk to ocean, Big Ben, Art Institute of Chicago, House of Parliament, Smithsonian Museums, Metropolitian Museum of Art, Pyramids of Giza, Broadway plays, Liberty Bell, animals of Galapagos, Vietnam War Museum, fish and rice farms of Vietnam, Nile River.

Stephanie Burgess
December 28, 2013

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