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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Adelphi chapter.

Hey, it’s Skylar, and I just want to clarify an assumption people might have about bucket lists. They are not only for those who are to kick the bucket soon, as people assume but anyone and everyone who wants to live their life to the fullest. Now, I have had plenty of bucket lists over the years, but this is my official bucket list. I started writing it during the beginning of Freshman year and it now has a total (as I am writing this) of 1,345. I have completed roughly 31 items, which for me is a pretty decent amount. I am really particular about how I complete my bucket list, so it took a lot of convincing to cross ones off I had already done before I had actually written this bucket list.

My goal for the summer was to complete ten things on my bucket list, and I was lucky enough to have completed all ten items. Being able to complete those ten inspired me to try to complete 100 by the start of my senior year of college. So far – with the ten I completed over the summer plus the 8 I completed in September – I have a total of 18 items completed. I will list them in order of completion:

  1. Have a fanfic that gets remixed, podficced, and has fanart
    1. I write fanfiction, and I am not ashamed of that at all. In fact, I am proud of it. I read fanfics that always seem to get stories written based on theirs, fanart, and other things like that, but never mine, so I hoped that one day I would get that myself.
    2. An amazing group of podficcers (people who record audio versions of fanfics) made a podfic (an audio recording of a fanfic) based on my fanfiction.
  2. Drive a Tesla
    1. Now, I have no interest in driving and I would probably be a menace to society if I did drive, but I am a huge fan of Elon Musk and his companies. So, I really wanted to at least drive a Tesla once.
    2. I am very fortunate that my dad let me drive his car. This was luckily in a school parking lot with no one around, as it was the summer. I would say besides speeding up a few times, I think I did a pretty good job. I still don’t plan on driving in the future though.
  3. See the Archives of The Franklin Institute
    1. For those of you who are not familiar with the Franklin Institute, it’s a science museum in Philadelphia which has many amazing exhibits.
    2. I have very fond memories of the place, from having my birthday party and my Bat Mitzvah there. I’ve also had the opportunity to work as an intern, volunteer at their camp, and have a plaque with my name on it (which was one of my amazing Bat Mitzvah gifts).
    3. A friend of my family happens to be the head of the Franklin Institute, so I was very fortunate to get the opportunity to tour the archives of the museum and see things that most people would not be able to see.
  4. Eat at Yuzu Sushi Chicago
    1. I found out about this restaurant on Youtube from Insider and what is special about it is that the chefs make really cool designs using the sauce.
    2. The food was very delicious, and both the presentation and flavor were very good.
  5. Eat at the Nutella Cafe
    1. Like most people I love Nutella, so when I found out about this cafe, I knew I had to go.
    2. I got a crepe with extra Nutella, strawberries, and bananas. It was extremely tasty.
    3. As a souvenir, I got a sticker with my name on it in the style of the Nutella logo and I put on a big Nutella jar when I got back home.
  6. Eat at Roister Chicago
    1. Roister is one of Grant Achatz’s many restaurants and I was lucky enough to get to see the kitchen.
    2. The food was really tasty and I am glad I went.
  7. See a show at Second City
    1. For those who do not know, SecondCity is a sketch comedy/improv organization where many comedians have gotten their start.
    2. One of my heroes, Tina Fey, started there, and I even wore a Tina Fey themed outfit.
    3. I saw the Out of the House Party and I loved it. This Tina Fey and SNL obsessed girl was in heaven.
  8. Have a molecular gastronomy meal
    1. The best way I can describe molecular gastronomy is if a mad scientist could cook.
    2. I was lucky enough to have two molecular gastronomy meals this summer. One was at Next in Chicago, and the other was at Laurel in Philadelphia.
    3. They were both amazing and I am still obsessed with that style of cooking.
  9. Eat at Next
    1. Next is a restaurant by Grant Achatz, and is a unique concept as the theme changes every three months. The theme when I went was “Best of Next.”
    2. All the food was interesting, but in the best way.
    3. I was also lucky enough to see the kitchen for this restaurant, and was able to get my book signed by the Chef himself.
  10.  Eat at Laurel Philly
    1. Laurel is, as far as I know, Philadelphia’s only molecular gastronomy restaurant.
    2. The food was very good and interesting, but in a good way
  11. Participate in Postcrossing
    1. Postcrossing is when a group of people send and receive postcards from all over the world.
    2. My first postcard was sent to Germany!
  12.  Have a powerpoint party
    1. For those who do not know, a powerpoint party is a party where people present a powerpoint on anything they like, and most often, it is usually very humorous.
    2. Mine was on fictional characters and their hypothetical bucket lists.
  13.  Have a smash cake
    1. A smash cake is similar to a regular cake, except you have to smash it open and see what is inside.
    2. Mine was made out of chocolate and had gummies inside.
  14.  Have my palm read
    1. My amazing RA Victoria did it for me, and I learned a lot about myself from it.
  15.  Eat at Per Se
    1. Per Se is a restaurant by famous chef, Thomas Keller, who is the head chef and owner of The French Laundry.
    2. He is also the mentor to Grant Achatz.
    3. The menu was a tasting with a few items you were able to choose from.
    4. I decided to order a glass of champagne which I shared with my mom, dad, and grandfather, as I know Champagne is something you usually drink during celebrations.
  16.  Take a NYC pizza tour
    1. We went to two different pizza places; one was called Patsy’s and the other was called Mama’s Too.
    2. We also learned that any street sign that is brown means that that street is considered historical and can not be knocked down.
  17.  Take a picture in front of Banksy’s Hammer Boy
    1. On the pizza tour, I also got to take a picture in front of a Banksy original.
    2. Banksy is a graffiti artist most well known for his shredded Saxbys art.
    3. I am a big fan of Banksy!
    4. This graffiti was of a boy swinging a hammer on a real fire hydrant.
  18.  Eat sushi with a saki pairing
    1. Some of my family and I ate at Sushi Nakazawa.
    2. There, we had what is known as an omakase, or chef’s choice.
    3. You could pair it with sake, which is a Japanese alcoholic drink; my parents drank most of it, but I had a sip of each glass.
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