The Bucket List

Photo by Nils Schirmer on Unsplash

What are the things you wish to accomplish before you leave this Earth? Will you truly be able to say that you lived a long and fruitful life filled with joyous memories that you can take with you in the afterlife? Did you relentlessly pursue your personal goals in hopes to achieve them? Speaking of relentless, I recently read a book titled ‘Relentless: Changing Lives By Disrupting the Educational Norm’ by Hamish Brewer. Without going into a huge summary of the book, Mr. Brewer discusses that through love, passion, and possibly going against the educational norms, we may find a silver lining in what it takes to help mold our students. I can just feel his passion pouring through every page however the last chapter really resonates with me.

In his final chapter he did not go into more educational motivating words, instead he uses the final chapter for readers to kind of self reflect on their personal lives. He stated how many people slip into unhealthy lifestyles that become unbalanced and focused on living to work rather than working to live. I am sure other authors have made the same statements I just so happened to have read this particular book. He continues by saying to not look back with regrets and wondering “what if.” To be unapologetically relentless. As I approach year 30 (I turn 30 in September) I realized that I haven’t really lived. As a school teacher, I know people assume to think we have summers off but I’m usually using that as a time to, decompress, relax at home and attend conferences to help myself become a better teacher. So far in my life I have been working to live. I feel as if I have wasted around 30% of my life already. I’m not much of a risk taker and I am extremely good at making excuses for not doing certain things. I purposefully place myself in a world of comfort. I think I have a fear of challenging myself because it may lead to failure or rejection, both in which I try to avoid. I tend to set modest, realistic goals not realizing that I am selling myself short. Ambitious goals and having a plan to reach them takes courage! Getting back up and trying again after you failed takes courage! In the book, Hamish wrote his list of things to do before he dies, his bucket list. I thought it was pretty unique for him to place this in his book for the world to see. I personally never thought of writing out my bucket list. One, because I’m only 29 and haven’t really thought about death yet and two, I don’t want to feel discouraged if others see some of my bucket list and think its not possible or that they can be easily accomplished. Some will require major planning, some will challenge me mentally. Some will be easily obtainable while others will take a well thought out plan. Some will be my career goals while some is just something I would like to do. So here we go, Jeffery’s Bucket List in no particular order what so ever:

• Remember this is *MY* list. This list may contain things on here that millions of people have already done. Some readers of this may have already done over 90% of my list. But remember it is MY list. I’m not trying to be the first person of anything, nor attempting to write things down so far fetched that it may be humanly impossible. MY bucket list contains items that if accomplished, as small as they may be for some readers, I would have lived a long and fruitful life:

1. Visit Amsterdam
2. Hold and let a tarantula crawl over me
3. learn to swim
4. Try an 100% plant diet and document the process for 3 months
5. Get ridiculously high in the mile high city
6. Take a picture with J. Cole
7. Take a picture with Kendrick Lamar
8. Take a picture with Kanye West
9. Have visible abs just to see what the hype is about (never had visible abs)
10. Write a book and publish it
11. Start a non profit
12. Go back to my hometown and be a school administrator
13. Become a school principal
14. Become a superintendent
15. Try LSD (yup)
16. Create a podcast
17. Take my mom on a hot air balloon (its one of her bucket list items)
18. Let my dad see my daughter
19. Become a motivational speaker and speak to students and teachers all across America
20. Do a Ted Talk
21. Learn how to operate and own a gun
22. Attend a political rally that challenges my personal beliefs
23. Visit Asia (like all of it)
24. Visit London
25. Die Debt free
26. Build my dream house
27. Renovate my childhood home
28. Get braces for my teeth
29. Buy my dream vehicle
30. Be mentioned in someone else’s “story”
31. Inspire a generation
32. Try a 6 month keto diet
33. Quit fast food
34. Quit drinking alcohol
35. Go to therapy
36. See 180–185 lbs on the scale
37. Be apart of a protest
38. Visit all 50 states
39. Visit South America
40. Live in Africa for at least 3 months
41. Get to know my dad’s side of the family
42. Attend Lebron James’s last NBA game
43. Attend Bronny James’s first NBA game
44. Run a half marathon
45. Run a full marathon
46. Do a spartan Race
47. Create a boys and girls club type facility in my hometown
48. Attend my daughters wedding
49. Attend College football championship
50. Attend College basketball final four
51. Attend NBA finals
52. Attend superbowl
53. Go to Jerry’s World (No, I have never been)
54. Attend an Olympic event
55. Get my Doctorate degree
56. Learn how to cut my own hair
57. Build a home gym
58. Create other leaders
59. Quit drinking alcohol
60. Meet Obama
61. Meet Trump
62. Meet Joe Biden
63. Meet Kamala Harris
64. Start writing more
65. Learn to accept constructive criticism
66. Continue to step out of my comfort zone