Living for Your Eulogy

Are you living for your resume or eulogy? 

This powerful question was first introduced to me in David Brooks Ted Talk. (Which I highly recommend!) This statement really got me to thinking about how much more there is to life than how a person looks on paper. (For even more information on this, check out this article from the New York Times!) On an individual basis, happiness is the most important thing to arguably anyone. Yet, it is such a rare commodity because of what society teaches us to place value upon. It is important that we do not lose ourselves to this, and that we strive to be the best that we can be. I aspire to be an outgoing, worldly, bubbly, loving person who adds positivity to the world; a goal that can only be achieved by working on myself and "strengthening my eulogy." To strengthen ones eulogy and become the very best version of yourself, it is vitally important to be self-fulfilled. This is why, I decided to enclose a bucket list of some of my top 50 goals and adventures I hope to embark on in this lifetime. Without further ado, this is my plan to strengthen my eulogy; here is my bucket list:

1. Meet Sophia Bush… She is my idol and forever will be my answer to the infamous question of “If you could eat dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?”
2. Be comfortable enough financially to only buy sustainable goods when given a choice; although this is usually the less economical option, it is the only option for a better, more humane and environmentally friendly world.
3. Be a Big Sister as a part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America foundation. It is such an incredible platform to make a difference in someone’s life.
4. Go to Australia
5. Hit the Swiss Alps one winter (even if that just means drinking hot cocoa in the ski lodge)
6. Change the self-image many people have (especially body image for young girls) through ads/marketing campaigns for a company that enables people to feel confident in who they are. I have always wanted to go into this field to create a new standard for media.
7. Participate in a traditional wish-lantern celebration (either in another country or for a wedding...or both)
8. Ride elephants in Thailand or India
9. Do more research on Buddhism and meditation...I have always been intrigued by these concepts and would love to learn more.
10. Go on a wine-tasting trip in a limo and go to a bunch of different wineries with my girlfriends… I have watched my mom do this and it just seems so fun!
11. Keep a lifestyle blog with a large following
12. Raise the rest of my $25,000 and build a school in Ghana. I am so excited to meet those kids!
13. Go on an African safari
14. Be in a music video, commercial, movie, etc (even if just as an extra :)
15. Sit outside at a Parisian cafe with a croissant in hand
16. Really experience the Eiffel tower: (Picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower, go to the top of the eiffel tower, see the eiffel tower at night, etc)
17. Meet some of my family in France
18. Have a beautiful, genuinely love-filled, wedding that is straight off my pinterest board
19. Add a Lock to the Love Lock Bridge in Paris
20. Rescue a puppy
21. Have kids! My friends all joke that I am “a mom” and although I am in no rush, I am very excited to one day be a parent.
22. Buy a house that I am proud to call home
23. Host parties and BBQ’s at my house, I want to be the gathering place. Furthermore, to BBQ an incredible steak for my dad while having my parents over for dinner. He has always told me as I’ve grown up that this is something he greatly looks forward to.
24. Vacation in an overwater bungalow in the bahamas
25. See the Ellen show live (and keep my fingers crossed that it's one of those super cool giveaway ones)
26. Run a marathon
27. Do a color run
28. Eat in an underwater restaurant
29. Visit the Louvre
30. Cook amazing dinners for my family every night the way my mom does for our family. We have so many amazing family recipies and I hope to carry on the legacy of our family cookbooks.
31. See a broadway show in New York
32. Ride a gondola in Venice, Italy
33. Zipline through the jungles of Costa Rica
34. Visit all 7 continents, make at least one friend in every one of them
35. Visit all 50 states
36. See the Northern Lights
37. Finish a journal. I have wanted to keep a journal for years, I would love to actually finish one.
38. Pay a stranger’s restaurant bill. I love all the “pay it forward movements” and I don’t want this to be a one time bucket list item, I would love to do this often.
39. Throw a Coin and Make a Wish in the Trevi Fountain in Italy
40. Drink Beer at Oktoberfest in Germany
41. Helicopter over a Volcano
42. skydive...such a cliche but it definitely deserves a spot on my list!
43. Graduate college
44. have “tea time” in England and wear a cool hat
45. Go to Santorini Greece
46. Explore Rome
47. Explore Spain
48. Ride the London Eye
49. Visit all seven wonders of the world
50. Be in Times Square on NYE and watch the ball drop