Kicking the bucket (list)

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By Bryce Kunz

One woman is determined to view all the wonders of the world, learn how to say hello in 50 languages and go bungee jumping. Another said she wants to get a short story published. One daring student wants to kiss someone she does not know at the top of the Eiffel Tower. All for a bucket list.

Demarie Cook, a sophomore studying public health, believes bucket lists need to be done sooner rather than later. She has already crossed things like skydiving and bungee jumping off her list which contains more than 100 items. She said she’d like to see the seven wonders of the world and teach herself guitar and piano.

Exotic locations are on many students’ bucket lists. Michelle Ericksen said one thing on her bucket list is to kiss someone she does not know on the top of the Eiffel Tower, something she plans to do this summer on a family vacation.

Spicing up life is a main reason people create bucket lists. Alexis Flake said she wanted to catch a falling coconut, and did on a vacation to Hawaii. She also has friends help her with goals. Recently a friend brought a clam from Hawaii with a pearl inside to help her cross that off her list.

Along with the rush of doing exciting things like swim behind a waterfall, Flake said she believes the social aspect is most appealing.

“It’s a social thing to cross things off the list,” Flake said. “If you are looking for ways to spice up your life, create a bucket list.”

Ashley Chipman, an English major from Tustin, Calif., posts her list to a website called dayzeroproject.com. She wants to go up in a hot air balloon, an idea that came from watching balloons at the Freedom Festival.

Most people interviewed by The Daily Universe said to write goals down. People use journals, blogs, post-its and even phones to record their ideas. Kendis Romney, a senior from Provo, said she believes lists help people do more than just create ideas.

“It’s fun to see your goals in front of you,” Romney said. “They provide motivation.”

Romney wants to scuba dive in Thailand, write and publish a book and run a half-marathon.

Why do people create bucket lists? Feeling the rush of crossing something off the list requires planning, something which serious bucket list creators do quite regularly.

Amber LeBaron, a sophomore from Cedar Hills, said she wants to make sure she takes advantage of the moments, and creating a bucket list helped her do that.

“I love the phrase ‘carpe diem,'” LeBaron said. “And I basically am just realizing how fast time flies by. Some goals are extreme, like biking across America, and then there are other ones that are more achievable.”

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