Summer is drawing to a close, fall is fast approaching. It’s time to trade in coconut, limes, and seashells for pumpkins, apples, and maple leaves. Out with oceanic breeziness, in with cozy productivity. The transition to a new semester, perhaps the first year of your collegiate experience, calls for a reformulation of one’s priorities. As I realign myself to focus on my studies, as well as my my goals both personal and academic, I also want to include as much productive fun as I can (don’t worry, there is still plenty of time for not-exactly-productive fun…). Here is my list of seven bucket list items for this semester.
develop a signature drink
I am a staunch believer in fall flavor supremacy. Call it basic all you want, but the pumpkin spice latte is a work of a genius. I still dream about the 2021 Starbucks Apple Crisp Macchiato. Even matcha is perfect for fall, served warm with white chocolate syrup (I am, unfortunately, not a matcha purist). I have also always harbored the notion that having a signature anything is incredibly chic. Creating my own recipe based on fall flavors, something to enjoy on my own or to share with close friends, whether it be a morning coffee drink or a classy cocktail, is a fun little dream of mine.
go to the archery range… or ride a horse
What can I say, sometimes a girl just wants to feel like a YA heroine.
It’s been more than a decade since I seriously participated in either of these, which are two of my childhood hobbies. I don’t see myself fully taking up either of them, at least not long term, but every once in a while I find myself missing the feeling of a bow or reins in my hands. It’s honestly a very good way to decompress, to do something so outside of what feels like reality. Stressed about a chem exam? Go pretend you’re Merida. Sadly, the reality of these activities in our modern world doesn’t exactly make you feel like a medieval Scottish princess, but it’s still a fun way to spend a day, especially with friends.
hit the farmer’s market bright and early
I’m almost certain that by everyone’s third week in Chico, they’re aware of the Thursday night market hosted throughout a few downtown streets. Slightly less well known, however, are the Wednesday and Saturday morning markets. These markets are less, shall we say, eventful. While produce stands are certainly a feature of Thursday nights, at the morning markets, they’re the main event, along with local artisan baked goods, drink booths, fresh meat, and the like. At least once this semester, I will be up, out, and about at the market’s opening. Both start at 7:30am, Wednesdays at the North Valley Plaza, Saturdays at the Downtown Chico Municipal Lot (this one is at a walkable distance from campus).
mini bucket list – the reading list
I really just want to do my Goodreads “Want to Read” list proud.
I use Pinterest for many, many things, but lately my favorite offerings on my feed have been book recommendations. Whenever I see one that looks interesting, I find it on Goodreads, and if that interest remains piqued, onto the “Want to Read” list it goes. As of now, that list severely outnumbers my “Read” list (sadly, when I made my account, I could not, in fact, recall every single book I had ever read in my entire life). By the end of the semester, I aim to have them more or less equal. This entry in this list is a bit different than the others, in that it’s structured as more of a long term goal than a singular activity, but really, what else is a TBR (to be read) list than a highly-specified bucket list? It’s bucket list Inception!
host a movie night
As we progress further into fall, almost to winter, movie nights become the ideal way to spend an evening in. As the weather gets colder, the fuzzy blankets come out, and all through October, the permeating spooky, autumnal atmosphere lends itself perfectly to a cozy night with friends. I anticipate I’ll receive pressure to show a scary movie, but I will say absolutely not. I am too much of a scaredy cat, and I’m not at all ashamed of that. I much prefer something pleasantly supernatural, or a cozy mystery, or a grim whodunnit, or even a dark psychological thriller as a pre-Halloween showing. Some people are instantly in a Christmas spirit post-Halloween, but I very patiently hold off on that until December. November is all about the throwback: childhood classics, Disney and Barbie, the occasional fever dream movie you’re not quite sure really existed, if you can find it. Then when we finally reach December, bring on the ultimate comfort watches – holiday movies.
adopt a cat
Not much to explain here. One way or another, come winter, a kitten will be mine.
sell an original work
For quite some time now, I’ve had idealized ambitions of selling something… somewhere… somehow. That idea has evolved over the years, beginning as t-shirt designs on Redbubble, shifting to digital downloads on Etsy, to handmade decorative items. I’ve toyed with the idea of forming a whole business, or having a small operation as a source of passive income. At the moment this isn’t something that neatly fits into my future career goals, but it as something that, on a vey tiny scale, I want to accomplish. I want to prove to myself that I can achieve any such endeavor that I choose, be it one singular graphic tee, or a little clay figurine (made with love, not my nonexistent painting and sculpting skills). If I had to offer any wisdom, it would be to always seek to do things you can be proud of.
That is all from me, wishing everyone a happy, successful semester in beautiful Chico!