Bucket list

In a recent conversation with a dear friend of mine, I realized that the main source of my recent anxiety and restlessness has come from not knowing what my life holds for me once I graduate college next year. NEXT YEAR?!?!? REALLY?!?! . . . Dag.

Anyway, I knew part of it was because of a few of these big changes happening soon:
~I'm moving from the apartment I've lived in for three years -- and completely on my own; I'm not taking anyone with me. It's a brand new start.
~I am leaving in 105 days to go to Europe for 2 months. (I'm buying the plane ticket tomorrow! Eek!)
~My friend Nathan is coming home from his mission in October. . . . Don't read too much into that; it just means I won't be running to the mailbox every day after school. But trust me, that is a big change. I'll need to start finding alternative means of exercising. :)
~My little sister will be coming to college with me in August.
~I will turn 21 in September. And I will likely spend my 21st birthday drinking root beer. Though I guess that isn't a change, but the 21 thing is still a milestone I guess.

There are others, too, but those are some of the more significant ones.

As I was talking with my friend, I expressed the frustration and even a little bit of dread that I feel when I think about my life after college. I know what I want to do, but I don't know how I am going to obtain it. And, with all these big things happening, it is sometimes hard to see that the big things can keep on happening even after this important, exciting time in my life.

So, this wonderful friend of mine suggested that I make a bucket list. He said I should include short-term goals, like things that I want to see while I am in Europe, as well as long-term things -- just little (or big) things I want to do before I die.

I've started making that bucket list, and it really has eased some of the anxiety already. Especially because I'm on my way to a couple of them.

What I'm listing here are just a couple of the things on my "to do before I graduate college" bucket list, not including my goals for the study abroad:

1: Take an organ class. (Registered, Spring 2010)

2: Use the skills learned in the organ class to take carillon lessons in the fall (I really want to play the bell tower! And I've heard that the best s'mores are made by roasting the marshmallows on the big lights.)

3: Learn to sing like a black woman
4: Learn to play the harmonica (I purchased one last week. I'll be self-taught, and probably not very good, but it should be a blast!)
5. Kiss at least one boy. hahahahahaha. . . . That's just to freak my daddy out.

Anyway, moral of the story: I am excited to try new things and bring a little more music back in my life! Literally and figuratively. Wish me luck!