By JAZLYN SLACK
Everybody has a dream. It may be to go skydiving or to travel the world. It may be to simply live life to the fullest or help a homeless person. Some people may
have years to accomplish their dreams; others may only have a few months or days.
Walt Disney once said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Disney pursued his dream in arts and entertainment, becoming a legend who everyone knows and loves. The young boy from Missouri studied art and photography and turned his dreams into a reality.
Some people creat bucket lists to help them achieve their goals. The term, made famous by the 2007 film of the same name and which starred Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, refers to a life list or list of life goals that people want to achieve before they “kick the bucket.”
There are different reasons as to why one would create a bucket list. Some do it without even realizing they’re making one, while others sit down with pen and paper and jot down every little thing that comes to mind. Then there are those who don’t have much time left and want to make a difference in their lives.
Alice Pyne, a 16-year-old blogger who has a terminal cancer, writes as much as she can on her blog, telling the world about her bucket list in hopes of accomplishing as much as she can before cancer takes her life.
On her blog she writes, “I’ve created a bucket list because there are so many things I still want to do with my life – some are possible, some will remain a dream.
“My blog is to document this precious time I have left with my family and friends, doing things I want to do. You only have one life – live it!”
With items including “to swim with sharks, to go to Kenya, to be a dolphin trainer and to go to Cadbury World and eat lots of chocolate,” Pyne blogs that she’s “not quite finished it (her bucket list) yet, as I keep remembering other bits, so I might add things to it as I go along.”
Having years to accomplish one list of things can almost be overwhelming. Imagine being a sick 16-year-old who doesn’t have much more time to live and having the spirit to do all that she can so her parents can say “she lived her life to the fullest.”
Travelling is one of the most popular things on people’s bucket lists.
There are so many places to explore in the world, with its seven continents, approximately 196 countries and more states, provinces, cities, towns and villages than one can even count. The world is so full of beautiful architecture, landscape and people that when one thinks of travel, travelling the world becomes the title, and their list consists of the many different places and things they want to see.
Joel Pennington, a travel agent at Flight Centre in Fairview Park Mall, said all that’s on his bucket list is to “travel and enjoy life.” Pennington has travelled to many places including Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. “Pretty much everywhere but South America,” he said. The next country on his bucket list is Brazil where he hopes to go in 2014.
The Flight Centre travel agency sees, on average, 20-25 customers per day. “It’s all about experiencing new things and getting educated,” said Pennington.
Travelling becomes a category of its own, but maybe you’re a traveller and your life goals are to visit all the wonders of the world.
The possibilities of a bucket list are endless. Some, such as Kitchener residents Peter and Edythe Diebel, would like to travel the world by motorcycle and live a “healthy and long life.” Others, such as 16-year-old musician Daniel Dorman, just want to play music and live a Christian lifestyle.
In the book, Before I Die, written by Jenny Downham, she writes, “All I know is that I have two choices – stay wrapped up in blankets and get on with dying, or get the list back together and get on with living.”
Your bucket list is intended to help you live your life to the fullest, so you leave this world with no regrets and know that you accomplished everything you wanted to. As author Alan Sachs said, “Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives.”
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