Bucket List and Bullet Journaling

I may be posting this bucket list update for my own personal tracking record more than anything. My original bucket list post had 51 items, and I’ve added a few more in bucket list update posts since then.

I added two items that I completed before they were on the list but I have always wanted to do. I added five items to my list in 2024. I am adding three more to my list in 2025.

The list now has 61 items! How exciting!

Let’s do a little review of how crossing off items is going!

I posted my original bucket list blog in January of 2023. That year I managed to cross off numbers 18, 35, 39, and 52.

In 2024, I managed to cross off numbers 22, 37, 47, and 58.

Eight.

EIGHT!

I know some of my items are goofy and don’t take too much work to accomplish, but I honestly did not expect to have crossed off eight items in two years.

Let me share with you some beautiful things I’ve learned about having a bucket list.

1. You get to watch your progress as you strive to work towards one’s that will inherently take more time. Number 9 and number 21 on my list are ones I made efforts towards during 2024. I completed a second full journal and wrote in quite a few others. I am on a 728 day streak on Duolingo, and I hope to continue striving to learn Spanish!
2. You realize that some items create numerous options for adventure. Number 47 on my list led to two occasions, in 2024, in which I was able to get a picture with a “World’s Largest” item. While I can technically cross off this item and be done with it, I would much prefer trying to find other “World’s Largest” adventure opportunities!
3. You discover that some items can be crossed off in a way you didn’t expect. I saw a community event posted on Facebook one day noting “Ice Skating.” I knew I had to be there. The rink was smaller than I expected and wasn’t the “ice” I imagined in my head when I thought about ice skating. I still had a blast doing this version of ice skating. I even got to see an old friend from college! I still plan to seek out ice skating in a legit skating rink one day.
4. You have the opportunity to see all the blessings in your life. I’ve crossed off items while spending time with my best friends. I’ve been invited to activities unexpectedly by friends that helped me cross off these items. I have a partner that has been there with me on a few bucket list adventures. My life is truly becoming something I never pictured when I made this list two years ago. I thank God daily for it all!
5. You have the chance to inspire others to seek adventure. I’ve had so many people, since I started posting about mine, comment about their own bucket list. I’ve been present when some people have crossed off their bucket list items. I think most importantly, I hope to inspire the children in my family to always seek adventure and joy. I know some of these items are not necessarily adventure based, but it’s still good for people to do things that are important to them!

You may be asking why I mentioned bullet journaling in the blog title. Well, let me tell you! It’s all because of bucket list item number two. “Publish a book.” I want to be a published author. I have been working on five consistent bullet journal pages for about four months now. They’re all annual trackers and a little before 2025 began I created a new annual tracker page. The first one in my bullet journal is tracking the amount of time I spend writing. However, I’ve noticed I tend to write by creating blogs or journaling. I often neglect writing towards a goal of being published. While I write down book concepts in my notes app every now and then, the main idea I have right now is a novel I’ve mentioned quite a bit before.

In 2025, one of my resolutions is to write more on my novel. This has been a resolution/goal of mine for years, and until I have a completed book in my hand, it won’t be going away. So, I created an annual “Writing – GTS” tracking page in my bullet journal. I’m hopeful this will help motivate me to continue pushing towards my dream.

This is a good time to add in a reminder. Your value is not dependent on what you accomplish in your life or what you cross off a bucket list. You’re valuable as a person simply because you exist. You are loved simply for who you are, not what you may be able to offer someone. Don’t ever forget that! I love you, beautiful humans!

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I will likely add more each year, but here is my current bucket list:

1. Pet a giraffe.  
2. Publish a book.  
3. Voice a character in an animated movie.  
4. Visit Giraffe Manor in Kenya.  
5. 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!). 
6. Go to Disney World with friends. 
7. Walk on the side of a road when a car drives through a puddle and get splashed by it.  
8. Buy a new flute.  
9. Fill at least 100 journals with my thoughts.  
10. Visit the Australia zoo.  
11. Own a pink Volkswagen Beetle. 
12. Complete one of those man vs. food challenges. I’d request mine involve breakfast food.  
13. Ride in a helicopter.  
14. Attempt to snowboard.  
15. Meet Tom Hanks since he shares the same birthday as me and that seems like a good enough reason. 
16. Go horseback riding.  
17. Swim with sharks.  
18. Go on a cruise.  
19. Finish the crochet blanket I started in high school. 
20. Have a room in my home dedicated to my reading and writing aspirations.  
21. Become fluent in Spanish. 
22. Kiss someone in the rain.
23. Visit Times Square on New Year’s Eve.  
24. Visit the Grand Canyon.  
25. Ride a double-decker bus and get off it like Amanda Bynes did in What a Girl Wants.  
26. Go on an extravagantly planned date that my date planned.  
27. Meet Hilary Duff since someone told me I looked like her once and getting a selfie with her would be legit. 
28. Star in a mermaid inspired photo shoot.
29. Take a picture with the person playing Ariel at Disneyland or Disney World.  
30. Visit Mount Rushmore. 
31. Go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and pick out my own wand.  
32. Design a pair of shoes.  
33. Attempt to surf.  
34. Have a home with a huge kitchen island. 
35. Own a robot vacuum.  
36. Be a bridesmaid or maid of honor.  
37. Ride in a hot air balloon.
38. Get a tattoo on my arm and have my mom not be mad at me.  
39. Ride on a train. 
40. Impact the universal mental health conversation in a huge way.  
41. Work with an organization/cleaning company in some way.
42. Have a picture with all eight of my siblings present.  
43. Go on safari.  
44. Ride an elephant and camel. 
45. Receive a love letter from someone I also love (No creepy letters, please).  
46. Go on a segway tour.  
47. Visit places that have “The World’s Largest…” miscellaneous item.  
48. Go on a zipline.
49. Play a game of paintball.  
50. Make a font out of my handwriting. 
51. Take a pottery class.  
52. Get on a Jumbotron.
53. Catch a foul ball or a home run ball at a baseball game.
54. Write a blog a week at least one year.
55. Be on a game show.
56. Indoor skydive.
57. See the aurora borealis.
58. Go ice skating.
59. Complete birthday paintings every year for my kids until they’re 18 or ask me to stop.
60. Get to a point with my health where I don’t think constantly about losing weight.
61. Be debt free.