There’s a lovely quality about the air when spring rolls around. It seems to be buzzing with renewal, unexpected opportunity, warmth, growth, and color. Once the dreary gray of the last stretches of winter wears off, I find myself imbued with a refreshed hope for the possibilities of life. There’s a sweetness about springtime that I think comes in part from the simultaneous act of wrapping up old chapters and welcoming in new ones. Just like the flowers and the leaves, we can be made anew in the spring. And I think that makes it the perfect time to make a bucket list.
The magic of putting things on paper lies in this; if you write something down, you’re a lot more likely to do it. And when it comes to all the things you want to accomplish, anywhere on the spectrum from serious to silly, spring is an opportune season to do them. A bucket list will be very subjective, but they’re also fun to share.
Bucket List Item #1: Make a bucket list with your friends and try to cross off every item before the end of the semester.
With that, here’s my Senior Spring Bucket List:
1. Try the best escargot in town and then attempt to make escargot with other escargot-enjoying friends.
2. Go to local art museums.
3. Redecorate the house (maybe rearrange the furniture, add some new candles and posters?)
4. Get friends to write slam poetry as a joke?
5. Go to the botanical gardens and have a picnic.
6. Pizza and Aperol Spritz at Gemelle. (I highly recommend adding goat cheese and extra honey drizzle to the House Pizza).
7. Write a letter to be read by my future self in 2026. (I recently received a letter from 2019 me, and it was an unexpectedly comforting experience to read. It’s weirdly satisfying to realize that you’ve accomplished goals you don’t even remember setting, even if they’re small, and to know that your past self would be proud of you).
8. Learn more French. (While fun, peppering “j’adore” and “c’est la vie” into every conversation does not constitute a versatile French vocabulary).
9. Take fewer pictures of myself and more pictures of the little things I want to remember.
10. Clean out my closet. Maybe make a blanket out of old t-shirts.
11. Print out my favorite pictures from the last 4 years. There’s something sentimental about a hard copy.
12. Have a PowerPoint night: out-of-pocket topics from every presenter.
13. Get better at networking. I’m kind of kidding, but it never hurts to put yourself out there and strike up conversation with someone you wouldn’t usually talk to. Everyone you meet can teach you something you don’t yet know.
These items are small and simple, but that’s the beauty of a bucket list. Don’t underestimate the joy you can derive from sharing small moments of meaning with your friends or the growth that can come from challenging yourself in everyday ways. Your bucket list will look different than mine, but I hope you find yourself driven to seize the spring day and do all the silly little things that make you happy.