The only memory I have of my bucket list involved me anxiously hoping my high school crush didn’t consider me a total loser. There were only two classes in high school I recall his significant presence and most other encounters were outside of class. In one class, we had to present a PowerPoint presentation including a different item of our bucket list on each slide. Obviously, my love for him wasn’t real because I can’t recall a single item he once dreamed to do before he died.
The only two items I recall on my bucket list were meeting Jason Castro and riding in a hot air balloon. I’m not opposed to those items remaining on the list, but I’m not as infatuated with Jason Castro as I was when he appeared on season seven of American Idol.
After I forced my mom to read my New Year’s Day blog, I felt inspired to write another blog with a similar concept. My mom stated she felt inspired by my last blog. She stated the inspiration came when I said it was okay if someone didn’t accomplish the New Year’s resolutions they create. She felt humans do deserve to love themselves even if their plans don’t go as they hoped.
Hi, mom! Thanks for reading my last blog and all the ones before that. Thanks for being my biggest fan. Thanks for inspiring me to follow my dreams!
New Year’s Resolutions typically entail some sort of change in your day-to-day life. Whether that be going to the gym, eating better, reading more, traveling more, etc. It’s typically self-improvement motivated.
If you haven’t seen The Bucket List starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, I would recommend checking it out. This movie prefaced my high school class assignment to inspire us to think creatively about what we wanted on our lists.
Bucket Lists are lists of things you want to do before you die. Unlike New Year’s Resolutions, these lists are typically more long term than short term. They are typically more extravagant than a small life change.
I thought it would be fun to document what 30-year-old Ariel wants to do before she dies so I can look back one day and see if I am laughing at the memory like I am high school Ariel or count all the things I’ve been able to do.
So, here we go. Here’s what’s on 30-year-old Ariel’s bucket list. These are in no particular order.
- Pet a giraffe.
- Publish a book.
- Voice a character in an animated movie.
- Visit Giraffe Manor in Kenya.
- Meet Michael B. Jordan (If you haven’t read my Michael B, Jordan blog, please do. Maybe the extra views will get the word out to him! Haha!).
- Go to Disney World with friends.
- Walk on the side of a road when a car drives through a puddle and get splashed by it.
- Buy a new flute.
- Fill at least 100 journals with my thoughts.
- Visit the Australia zoo.
- Own a pink Volkswagen Beetle.
- Complete one of those man vs. food challenges. I’d request mine involve breakfast food.
- Ride in a helicopter.
- Attempt to snowboard.
- Meet Tom Hanks since he shares the same birthday as me and that seems like a good enough reason.
- Go horseback riding.
- Swim with sharks.
- Go on a cruise.
- Finish the crochet blanket I started in high school.
- Have a room in my home dedicated to my reading and writing aspirations.
- Become fluent in Spanish.
- Kiss someone in the rain (It happened to my best friend when we were teenagers, it can happen to me too, right?).
- Visit Times Square on New Year’s Eve.
- Visit the Grand Canyon.
- Ride a double-decker bus and get off it like Amanda Bynes did in What a Girl Wants.
- Go on an extravagantly planned date that my date planned.
- Meet Hilary Duff since someone told me I looked like her once and getting a selfie with her would be legit.
- Star in a mermaid inspired photo shoot.
- Take a picture with the person playing Ariel at Disneyland or Disney World.
- Visit Mount Rushmore.
- Go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and pick out my own wand.
- Design a pair of shoes.
- Attempt to surf.
- Have a home with a huge kitchen island.
- Own a robot vacuum.
- Be a bridesmaid or maid of honor.
- Ride in a hot air balloon. Yes, it is still on the list!
- Get a tattoo on my arm and have my mom not be mad at me.
- Ride on a train.
- Impact the universal mental health conversation in a huge way.
- Work with an organization/cleaning company in some way. I find cleaning/organizing TikTok fascinating.
- Have a picture with all eight of my siblings present.
- Go on safari.
- Ride an elephant and camel.
- Receive a love letter from someone I also love (No creepy letters, please).
- Go on a segway tour.
- Visit places that have “The World’s Largest…” miscellaneous item.
- Go on a zipline. I almost did but I have an almost embarrassing story involving the high school crush I mentioned above. I’ll tell the story if I’m ever famous.
- Play a game of paintball.
- Make a font out of my handwriting.
- Take a pottery class.
I made this list up as I went. I’ve only religiously thought about six of these before writing this blog. I couldn’t stop as I got going. I also think it’s super fun to have stopped at 51 because I want to hear how many people that irritated.
Here’s my inspiring message. If you have 51 items on your bucket list and you complete zero, you are still worthy. You don’t have to do anything to be worthy of love and happiness. You’re worthy simply because you exist. These lists are simply around to add a little oomph to our lives. We deserve to have fun if we can, but we all have different ideas of what fun looks like.
Figure out what makes your shoulders shimmy or brings out your happy dance and do those things but even if you don’t, you’re still amazing. You are so loved!
Ariel Pierce 
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