Why College is the Perfect Time to Make a Bucket List
February 5, 2010 | VReitano
The Bucket List is a concept that has gained quite a bit of popularity in the past few years, thanks in large part to a film in which Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson complete their own bucket lists to the delight of viewers around the world. The two men play men afflicted with Cancer who figure that they might as well have one last hurrah before they…well “kick the bucket.” That’s where this whole concept stems from and now MTV has jumped on the bandwagon with a series called The Buried Life and one of my friends is trying to get on the show. What motivates someone to do this, you might ask, and what exactly should be on a bucket list? Well, that’s what this post is going to explore.
Death. It’s kind of final, but also kind of (hopefully) far away for most college kids. When you are thinking about where to start your life you ultimately think of where it will end. Will you have changed people’s lives? Will you have led a fulfilling life? I think at this point, upon graduating from college, many of my peers are wondering about these essential questions, and that is a huge motivator. Many of my classmates are staying on an extra year to complete their graduate degrees, but I for one can’t wait for the next 100 days to be over!! I will be walking across the quad in exactly 100 days and then begins the rest of my life. But what life will that be exactly? Well, my friend Erin Kelly is trying to determine what her life goals should be; she’s writing her bucket list and trying to use it to get on The Buried Life.
I find this an interesting concept because to me I merely have 10 year goals. It’s easier to break it down that way, in my mind. And once I complete one of these goals, hopefully I can move on to the next set. I have general ideas of what major things I’d like to accomplish, which ones I know I will accomplish and what I may never be able to accomplish, but I haven’t ever sat down and put pen to paper (or text to computer as I’d be more likely to do). A ton of people, however, are currently doing just that.
MTV is known for creating series that create controversy – remember that little reality show no one “watched” called The Jersey Shore – and they are at it again with this new series. The Buried Life airs every Monday at 10/9 c and so far there have been about 4 episodes (you can watch them here). The Web site connected with the show is more of a blog that helps you connect with the cast and vote for new members of upcoming series. That’s actually how I found out about the whole show in the first place.
My friend Erin Kelly, a senior at Quinnipiac University, created a facebook group and event, updated her Twitter, and made her AIM status all about getting friends to vote for her on TheBuriedLife.com as a contestant in future rounds. She’s been creating her own bucket list on her blog for quite some time and feels that being on the show would be an excellent way to accomplish her very first goal – to make a difference in as many people’s lives as possible, which is an essential concept of the show. According to Kelly, the show helps someone else reach a dream every time one of the contestant’s reaches a goal of their own, kind of like a pay it forward kind of deal.
This to me is a great concept to think about and I think the more people who get involved in nominating themselves –or their friends – will ultimately help make everyone a little more conscious about the fact that life is short and that it most definitely needs to be lived to the fullest extent.
Are you going to make a bucket list now? What inspired you? I’d hope it was this post, but if it wasn’t let me know below and perhaps there are other factors to continue looking into on this subject!
Happy listing!
