Bucket List

Last night I saw my high school's production of Jekyll and Hyde, and it got me thinking about all the opportunities I've passed up and all those things I still want to experience in my life. I've thought about my bucket list a few times before—scribbled lists about traveling and such— but something about this show brought it all back to me and made me want to draw up a concrete record.

The show was extraordinary, first of all. The leads were unbelievable, the supporting cast was enthusiastic, and the staging and lights were gorgeous. Most of all, the show just looked like so much fun. The costumes, the choreography, the performance... and the sense of family. I have a secret love for drama kids that I've carried since I realized just how interesting (and crazy) someone must be to voluntarily go up and perform before hundreds of spectators. I would love to one day have a taste of that community and share the thrill of performing with them.

So that's #1 on my list. Be in a play or musical. I was always too shy to join one when I was young, but maybe next year or some time in college I should seize the day. I'll still be freaked out and nervous as heck, but isn't that all part of the fun of it?

The next is 2, Learn to play the violin. A couple years ago I tried my friend's violin, which was surprisingly light and a bit awkward to tuck under the chin. But the sound it made! I love the piano, but it could never compare with the feeling that came from that violin—it felt vaguely powerful, and I felt as if I were playing with the violin, not on the piano, do you know? As if it were more of an interaction with the instrument.

3. Live in Paris. If there's anything more romantic than this, I don't know what it could be. This type of living involves a flat above a bakery-café, croissants for breakfast, tea on bright summer afternoons, days spent in art museums, and more tea on freezing winter nights.

4. Write a novel, one that I'm proud of. It doesn't matter if I publish it, or how many people read it (although I'd want to share it with a few close friends). It's more about accomplishing this one dream that I've had since I was a child, one that a lot of us carry through life but don't ever seem to complete because it was a dream we made in our foolish youth. But that's not how I want my story to end.

I don't need to be the next Twain or Tolstoy; I just want to be a storyteller. More like a not-so-famous Roald Dahl, who wrote little books like George's Marvelous Medicine and The BFG simply because he loved to tell a good story. I would be extremely content if I died able to say I did that.

This is all I have for now. It's not a very long list, but there are things like skydiving and tattoos and traveling to exotic locales which fluctuate depending on my mood. Only these ones seem to stick for a long time.

So that's my bucket list. What's on yours? Comment if you wish. (: Happy Friday and have a great weekend!