I Made a Bucket List When I Was 14 and Still Live By It

Here is the list (ones completed are crossed out):

1. Know 5 different languages (currently in 2020: English, Cantonese, French)
2. Travel to Europe
3. Live to 104
4. Make my own bread using a sourdough starter
5. Love my job
6. Continue to stay active
7. Meet Ellen / be on her show
8. Watch Broadway
9. Buy a house
10. Run a marathon
11. Read all the books on 100 Books to Read list

Here is a visualization of those goals as a Future Map. Both of these documents were created during a workshop I attended when I was in high school. The program had to do with career preparation / readiness, so I assume we were prompted to imagine our future.

I’m impressed that 14-year-old me made such a realistic and lifelong agenda. There’s no skydiving, bungee jumping, traveling to x number of countries, etc. Most items require a lifelong commitment to check off, such as learning languages, staying active, and especially living until 104 years old. This was not so much of a typical bucket list, but rather a plan for life. And one that is scarily accurate, as these are all still goals that resonate with me.

Interestingly, I completely forgot about this list, but managed to cross items off as life led me down this path. So my goals have remained consistent and I’ve stayed grounded to them, even without the plan in sight. It took about 4-5 years for me to start to make a dent on this list and I’m looking forward to a lifetime to finishing the rest.