The College Bucket List – 20 Things to Do Before You Graduate

The Girl sent me a text last night telling me that she is now cured of her fear of heights. She went rock climbing with some friends and “made it to the top,” and then mentioned something about it was totally something she could check off her college bucket list.

When I asked her if she had a bucket list she said “No, but getting over my fear of heights would have been on it if I did.”  The conversation got me to thinking, what would be on a college bucket list?  I mean, when in life will you ever be so free to experience things again if not during college?

Here’s my top 20:

1. In honor of The Girl, conquer your biggest fears.  Face them head on, and decide if they are really all that bad.  Maybe if you are lucky, like The Girl, you won’t have to carry them around with you for the rest of your life.
2. Become a local.  Where ever you go for college, really get to know the area.  Make sure to experience the beaches, hikes, the nightlife, and the culture the city/town has to offer.  You may end up staying, and you may not, so live it up there for the 4 {or 5} years it takes to graduate.
3. Go to at least one “college party.”  It doesn’t mean you have to get crazy and live with a night of hazy regrets, but go, just to say you did it.
4. Try every single item in the dining hall at least once.  Not because it is good–it probably isn’t, but because it is a goal and a silly challenge.
5. Join a club.  It sounds ridiculous {at first}, but who knows, you might just meet lifelong friends–or I don’t know, find a purpose in life.  It could be that big. 🙂
6. Get bold and ask someone out, knowing full well they could say yes…or no.
7. Write at least one article for the school newspaper.  Get your voice out there, live in infamy with your name in print.
8. Be a spectator at at least one sporting event–whether your like sports or not.  It’s campus culture, you have to try it at least once.
9. Attend some of the extras.  When the school offers guest speakers, etc. make it a point to go.  You may actually have your mind blown.  Plus, once you leave school you have to pay big bucks to hear influential people speak–take advantage of it while it is including in  your already outrageous tuition.
10. Make out with someone for the sake of making out.  Yep, I said it.  Keep it innocent {that’s the mom in me talking}, but in the words of the British, have a little snog and move on. 😉
11. Volunteer.  Here’s the truth, it will make you feel amazing, AND you just might make connections that will help you after you graduate.
12. Sit in on classes just because they interest you.  Now is the time to “try on” several possible lives.  Find out what you are passionate about.  Life is really boring without passion.
13. Learn from heartbreaks.  College inevitably brings heartbreak.  Instead of spiraling into the abyss, use it like you would a college class.  What will you put up with in the future?  Learn how to be strong and independent.  Figure out what it takes to get you back up on your feet.  This is the chance to prove to yourself you don’t need to fall apart and that life goes on.  If you get this one mastered in college, you’ll be WAY AHEAD of most of the adult world.
14. Learn your limits.  Everyone knows that college can be a drunken debauchery.  This is the time to learn your limits–you may have to learn to live with regrets too, on that note.  Have fun, but figure out exactly where fun ends and regrets begin.
15. Dumpster dive.  Weird?  Maybe.  But, then again, you just might find some eclectic treasures {velvet Elvis tapestry, anyone?} that you will carry with your until your future spouse finally makes  you throw it away…again.  {You may learn a thing or two about our throw away culture while you are at it.}
16. Take a road trip.  College road trips are the best.  You are already used to living in tight quarters, so your expenses will be shockingly low.  Grab some friends and see how far you can get on a tank of gas.  See the country.
17. Figure out your learning style.  This one little nugget of information will help you the rest of your life.  Find out if you need absolute silence, the pressure of deadlines, or gobs of time to complete a task.  Learn how you put out your best work–you can apply it to the rest of your life.
18. Have an actual conversation with one of your professors.  You, my friends, are adults now.  You have the right to speak freely, have a conversation with another adult.  Don’t let their acquired knowledge/wisdom be a classroom/lecture only situation.  Have a real conversation during office hours.  They just might say something you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life.
19. Participate in at least on campus tradition.  Go to homecoming, sing your school song at the top of your lungs on game days, run naked through the quads–whatever your school traditions are, try at least one…to say you did.
20.  Embrace the luxury of being “impractical.”  Odds are, your major has some elective wiggle room.  This is the time to throw in ballroom dancing, photography, basket weaving with a field hockey emphasis–whatever, just explore the fun of it.

Have any more to add?  Maybe some you did…or some you didn’t do, and have always regretted?

~Mavis