This first entry will serve as a personal statement and really the sequence of free-flowing thoughts which ultimately led me to google "create an online blog," and to begin a public journal of my life. The reasons for doing this are many, and I honestly do not know where to begin?
Partly inspired by my internal desire to keep a journal; part desire to treasure the good (and bad) experiences I am living through each and every day; fear of one day forgetting everything I once enjoyed; wanting to share my life with those I "do not have time" to call, email, text, IM or send a letter to (yes, life is too busy and I repeat too busy!); the list really does go on...
So why "The Real Bucket List" title? Honestly, I was prompted to pick a title for my blog and looked in the mirror only to see a completely blank stare. A title? I just wanted to jot down my thoughts, experiences, and memories; all of which are so different that it is almost impossible to create an umbrella statement summarizing them.
I settled on "The Real Bucket List."
My mother's voice echoed in my head, as trailer clips from the recent Jack Nicholson movie simultaneously flashed before me. The difference is, my Mom frequently talks about her "bucket list," in terms of what she wants to do, not necessary what she has done (which is a lot of amazing stuff!). Recently she has checked off "going to a game during the final season at Yankees Stadium" and next month she will "go to the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade" (an event she watched every year on TV growing up).
Like my Mom, many people think of a bucket list as a dream "do" list of everything they would do, if they could in life. In a recent article in USA today it was quoted that "it's not enough to react to life on a day-to-day basis. People need a road map." This is where I disagree and why I decided to begin this blog.
After growing up in a small town (Schwenksville, PA), spending 4 years in Durham NC, a summer in Florence, and now over 2 years in NYC I have realized that my day-to-day life has not been perfect, but filled with many unexpected bumps & blessings. Many of these I would have never encountered if I did not react to my day-to-day basis, and if I didn't then I am convinced they probably would have one day ended up on my "bucket list." So yes, I still have a dream "do" list of my own, however rather than making a list about what I want to add to my bucket of experiences, I decided I must first uncover, acknowledge and share those unexpected lessons I have learned over the years about myself, my life and what my real dreams are.
While I hope to recall a few recent encounters in my initial entries, the majority of my blogs will probably take the form of an online journal. Again, my goal is to reflect on my life on a consistent basis and learn to acknowledge the bad, celebrate the good, and capture the honest and unexpected humor that life brings us. It is perhaps the many challenges, frustrations, tears and insecurities I have tried to hide over the past few months that actually forced me to find the most simple pleasures in life more recently. Once I began to look for, and acknowledge, the good stuff I immediately learned it outweighed the bad and for that I am thankful. I can only hope those who read this will not only learn more about me, but learn more about themselves and the life they either live and react to on a day-to-day basis, or live and regret not "doing" one day.
