My Summer Bucket List

Summer bucket lists are a must. Don’t ask me why, they just are. I mean you have 3 to 4 months of pure nothingness that make up your days so why not partake in memorable experiences to last a lifetime? I have a few things that I would love to do this summer, so i’ll list them here and you guys let me know what your summer bucket lists are.

1. Shakespeare in the Park

A very much loved tradition that takes place in the heart of Manhattan in no other than Central Park..the park of ALL parks. The play takes place in the Delacorte Theater in the park and tickets are get this, FREE!

2. Take a Road Trip to Somewhere I Have Never Been 

This is probably an ever present subject on bucket lists everywhere but this summer I am making it happen. America is a beautiful place in its own right and I do believe it is time that I explore it for my own, or with my closest friends!

3. Find a New Hobby

I have always loved writing and reading and crafting but maybe its time I find a new niche. Maybe running, ballroom dancing, water polo, fencing, hula hooping! Whatever I decide the possibilities are endless, I could literally do anything if I set my mind to it…when I find my new hobby i’ll be sure to keep you posted.

4. Make New Friends

I love the friends I have now, but meeting new people is always fun and exciting. I want to find people that I never thought I would befriend and build lasting relationships.

5. Create and Finish a Scavenger Hunt

So this is something I wanted to do in High School but it never came through. A giant scavenger hunt throughout Manhattan would probably be the most fun ever! Think of all the things that could be on the list. Spending a day in the city doing crazy, fun, reckless things with my friends sounds like a perfect summer day to me!

6. Stay Out All Night

Think about watching the sunset with your friends and special someone then spending that night laughing and drinking by a bonfire, sharing stories and learning so much more about the people you hold dear, not realizing that the night is slipping away from you but you don’t care because your exactly where you want to be. I want to experience one of those nights, that turn into mornings, nights where you watch the sun set and see it rise the next day.

7. Learn How to Cook

Maybe go to a cooking class, or just watch some Youtube videos but this summer I want to become a gourmet chef 😉

8. Volunteer

Whether a homeless shelter, a foster home, or an animal hospital this summer I want to give back to my community and make the world a better place one tiny step at a time.

9. GIANT WATER BALLOON FIGHT

Need I say more?

10. Make a Summer Scrapbook

I want to document all the amazing things that I do this summer so I can always look back and reminisce. I will use this book as a reference for all the summers in the future so I can do even better every time!

 

This is a very short list and I am sure I will be adding to it as the summer progresses, maybe you guys could give me some feedback on your summers and I can get some even cooler ideas! 

 

…What’s yours?

Simple Sundays

I can spend a significant amount of time trying to perfect my eyeliner, make sure that each wing matches, the thickness of the lines the same but some how without a doubt something always seems to happen and both eyes can’t ever look just right. A smudge here another there, what’s the trick? How do I get them to be perfect? You can’t.

 Things cannot ever be perfect because that is not how the world is intended to be. Life throws you massive curve balls at all the wrong moments but you have to embrace them, accept them and move on. You might not always get that promotion, that guy might not ask you out and sometimes someone eats the last slice of pie in the fridge. What can you do? You can work hard, be confident and sometimes you have to go and get more pie. Things won’t always match up or work out exactly as you planned them to be but that is what keeps things exciting, that is what keeps us on our toes.

The beauty of life is not the perfect moments, but the imperfect moments that you make perfect. Take pleasure in the little things and don’t dwell on the things that you have no control over.

How about today we skip the eyeliner.

Twenty-One and Some Change

I am 21 years old, I repeat only 21. I have been on this earth for 21 years, that is all. I am not saying that I have lived a fulfilled life so far…I have yet to see the Grand Canyon or take a walk on the Great Wall of China but I have gained life experience, there is no doubt about that. 

I do understand that our elders have been around the block many more times than my generation has but we have lived and we have seen things that have changed us forever. In the past twenty-one years I’ve seen one of the worst tragedies occur of all time, September 11th, 2001, I have witnessed the effects of a second great depression, I have fallen in love gotten my heart broken then fell in love again, a black man was sworn into the presidency of the United States of America and some of the most important people in my life have been taken from me. 

I have grown up in time where I can be an outspoken black woman and be treated as an equal. I go to a culturally diverse University in the most diverse city in the world, I can argue with a man about politics or religion and get him to agree with me. I can listen to any music I please, read any book I want, shop in any store and use any bathroom I want. The world has changed in the past 100, 75, 50 even 21 years, I am not saying that it has always changed for the better but it has changed and it still to this day is. 

I am 21 years old. I have experienced life and have seen many things, good and bad. I still have many years to come but I am ready and willing to see what those years have to offer.

Simple Sundays: Graduation Edition

So it’s graduation season and it’s that time to evaluate life again. We do it in middle school moving on to high school then again at high school graduation when we are going on-wards to college. Then in college that same evaluation process becomes a lot more serious, because that next step isn’t another 4 years of school (in some cases), but this last step is the steepest..the last step is life.

Though I am not graduating today, the commencement services at my University are happening…in the rain I might add. There are hundreds of bright eyed, educated, young twenty- somethings looking to take this last step and are ready to give everything they have in attempts to make something of themselves. My hat is off to you all. To every man and woman that is graduating all over the world, every one of you have worked your asses off these past few years to earn a degree and every success that will most certainly come your way, you did it and I am proud to call you my peers.

In a few years college will be a faint, beautiful memory and you’ll look back and you’ll reminisce and have a nostalgic moment. That will happen a lot over the course of your life but don’t dwell in it, because now you have a whole other chapter to write and this one is even more important. I have the utmost faith in my generation and I know you will conquer every obstacle and live in every moment. Life is waiting for you.

Congratulations to the class of 2013!  You did it!

Simple Sundays

I grew up in a small town, some of my oldest friends I’ve known since the age of four and I love that! Don’t get me wrong, I love that my parents chose to raise me in a small town, I always had that feeling of comfort in knowing everyone and building lifelong relationships with the whole community. BUT I knew from a young age that there was more for me. When I was looking for colleges my junior and senior years of high school, I refused to look at small schools in little towns I had to go to New York City, I belonged in New York City. 

It is so weird to think that in such a short amount of time I will be on my own an having to fend for myself, it’s scary and exciting all at the same time. I have so many dreams and they change and grow every day but I have never seen that as a bad thing. Maybe not all of my dreams are necessarily attainable but at least I have something to strive for. If you don’t have dreams then what do you have? I made a promise to myself that I will go for the biggest, unreachable, extravagant dreams and if they don’t work out then that’s OK because my “lesser” dreams are still going to be fulfilled. 

 

What are some of your dreams? Which ones have you reached and which ones are you still reaching for?

 

Simple Sundays

True words. I don’t think enough people realize this..we live our lives hour to hour, day to day but for what? We can all succeed if we set our minds to it. We have to take the steps and risks that pave the way for our futures and beyond. It is very scary to jump out of your comfort zone but in the end, it’s worth it.