Bucket List

When Money Supermarket contacted me about writing a post, I was intrigued. I've taken part in these kinds of post competitions before but this resonated with me a lot because offline I've been working on a pen to paper bucket list. There are so many things I want to see, do, experience, taste, participate in and buy but money is usually a factor hindering these aspirations. I thought I'd write about some of the things I aim to do in my life and things I'd like to tick off this list before I die. Of course, I don't know if I'm going to be here another hour let alone another few decades so I've decided along with my plan of saying yes to make a start.

So this is the big dream. New York. Ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of going to New York but back then it was to sing on broadway. After numerous films set in New York to the teenage years where I became a 30-something fictional Carrie Bradshaw trapped in a fifteen year old's body to dreaming of being Blair Waldorf strutting the streets of Manhattan in Elie Saab, I was hooked. I have a deep love for this city or at least the image that is portrayed of it and I desperately want to spend a week there not doing the tourist things as such but doing day to day things. I want to hail a yellow taxi. I want to eat a hot dog or a pretzel from the street. I want to walk into Barney's and browse. I want to drink coffee in an all night diner at 4am after emerging from a club where I will inevitably be asked for ID. Of course, New York is a dream right now with flights alone coming in at close to £1000 but a girl can dream.

Now for something a little more realistic and you'll probably raise your eyebrows at this but I want to go camping. The camping days of old resulted in no tents, a vat of alcohol and staying up until the sunrise with friends. I want the whole experience with a tent, a fire, some solar fairy lights in the trees (I don't expect them to be there - I'll bring them), an acoustic guitar, simple food and a bottle of wine. I'm outdoorsy in that I like getting drunk on patios so this seems ridiculous even to me and while I know that I may have a romanticised version of a night in a tent with my fiance and the reality will be horrendously different, I want to try it. I want to get out of my comfort zone and not rely on my phone, wi-fi or the TV for entertainment. I'd like a night where I switch off and try something completely new. Boyfriend loves camping and for once, I want to say yes.

I have so many things I want to do with my life from seeing the aurora borealis, going to Harry Potter World, going to Disney Land as I've always desperately wanted to go, stand on a volcano, swim with sharks, hold a koala, buy a house, save over £5000, own a yellow VW Beetle, raise excellent children, get a pug, cuddle a monkey, eat Japanese food in Japan, know what it feels like to be a size 10 just to see if it's any different.....there's just so much but I've realised we have a limited amount of time in this world and it is nowhere near what we expect it to be so we make the most of it and we make our choices.

Some day these will be my choices.