My Bucket List

                                Me as Huey Duck for Mickey´s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!

It's been proven that if people write things down, they are more likely to do/remember them. So, I have decided to write down my bucket list as motivation to make sure that I do as much as I can before I "kick the bucket." I just wish that I could come up with a different name other than a "bucket list." If I come up with something better, I'll make changes to the title. :)

• See a lantern festival
• Stand on 2 sides of the Equator
• See the Hollywood sign
• Be on a billboard in Time Square
• Ice skate in Central Park
• Drink coffee in Seattle
• Visit Pearl Harbor
• Visit Ground Zero
• Drive down Route 66
• Jump off of a waterfall
• Hug a penguin
• Celebrate my 100th birthday
• Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Ireland
• Make a wish in the Trevi Fountain
• Put gum on the gum wall in Seattle
• Kiss/be on a big screen05/15/2013
• Go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
• Run the Color Run
• Be in a flash mob
• Walk the red carpet
• Direct a film
• Snowboard
• Swim in the Dead Sea
• Start a blog- 4/29/2013
• Walk the Great Wall of China
• See the Eiffel Tower
• Visit the Sear's Tower in Chicago
• Visit Pixar Studios
• Travel first class
• Write a letter to myself and open in 10 years
• Eat pizza and spaghetti in Italy
• Swim in a fountain
• Eat in one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants
• Celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans
• Find out how many balloons it takes to lift me up off of the ground
• Visit the Hershey's Chocolate Factory in Pennsylvania
• Try Chicago style pizza in Chicago
• Visit Ben&Jerry's in Vermont
• Visit CNN
• Meet J.K. Rowling
• Eat at Carlo's Bakery
• Find P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney
• Visit Moravian Bookshop in Pennsylvania
• Meet Patrick Dempsey
• Tip a cow (Just kidding. I'd never do that but it's still a funny idea.)
• Wish on a shooting star
• Take a tour of the White House
• Be in 2 places at once
• Witness a miracle
• Stay in every Disney hotel
• See a meteor shower
• Graduate college
• Get a job at a news station
• Become a producer
• Go to Disneyland in California
• See a Broadway play in New York 
• Go to all 50 states
• Finish my novel- 7/28/2012 at 12:15 a.m.
• Rescue a dog
• Get married-5/12/2013
• Go on a Disney cruise
• Win a championship- November 2009 and 2011- NSPA
• Run a Disney marathon
• Ride in a helicopter
• Learn how to spoil myself
• Become a better person
• Change someone's life for the better
• Be on T.V.- 5/11/2011- WPTV
• Go to a movie premiere
• Go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween- 10/16/2012
• Dance in the moonlight- 1/25/2012
• Go on a road trip
• Scuba dive
• Swim with dolphins
• Skydive
• Fly a plane
• Learn how to play guitar
• Rock climb
• Go to the lock bridge in France
• Learn to sing
• Get published
• Go on a book tour
• Write a second novel
• Para-sail
• Hang-glide
• Have kids
• Adopt a kid
• Make the NY Times Best Seller's List
• White water raft
• Zipline
• See the Northern Lights
• Meet Dan Howell
• Go on a star-gazing date
• Make a snow angel
• Learn sign language
• Go surfing
• Set foot on all 7 continents
• Have a white Christmas
• Build a snowman
• Shop in N.Y.C.
• Paint roses red
• See the Statue of Liberty
• Swim in an infinity pool
• Finish a whole coloring book
• Meet Daniel Radcliffe
• Play messy twister
• Meet Alan Rickman
• Carve my initials into a tree
• Attend a masquerade
• Have a shaving cream fight
• Eat KFC in Kentucky
• Meet Ellen Degeneres 
• Ride in a hot air balloon5/16/2013

Hopefully, I'll not only be crossing some things off but adding some things more too! As you can see, the things that I've actually done are highlighted in yellow, dated by when I accomplished them and crossed off. I'd love to see more yellow highlights and dates on this list soon! However, truthfully speaking, I probably won't get half of that stuff done though but I'm going to try to do as much as I can and live my life to the fullest possible potential. I mean, life is an adventure, right? And even if I don't end up where I thought I'd be 20 years from now... it sounds like life to me.

Positivity

If there are 2 things that people know about life, it's that 1. It's short and 2. It's tough. 

                                                           Life is too short, so be silly. :)

Things don't always go the way that people want it to or expect it to. Sometimes it gets really hard and sometimes that's the most beautiful thing about it. Life would be boring if we all knew everything that was going to happen and sometimes, what seems to be the worst thing in life, turns out to be a blessing in disguise. 

Take me for example: About a year ago, I had tons of doctors telling me that my life was basically over and I would be confined to a bed for the rest of my life. They told me that I would be dependent upon my parents and fiance, that I could never have kids and that my hopes and dreams were never going to happen. 

Now, that's a lot of information for someone to take in. However, it's a completely different thing to try to prove them wrong. And that's exactly what I'm doing. A year later, you wouldn't even know that anything was ever wrong with me, that I was ever sick. I have overcome so much and am no longer confined to the four walls of my apartment. 

I have learned that nobody, not even teams of doctors can tell you how your life is going to turn out. But they can give you options. Option 1: Listen to them and not even try to get your life back. Or, Option 2: Realize that you're only 19 years old and you've got a heck of a life to fight for.

 Now if anything is going to teach you to appreciate life, it's feeling as if it's over. One thing I learned from this experience (which is still very tough to deal with but is getting better everyday) is that life can change direction in a blink of an eye and you shouldn't take one second of it for granted. Every second that you spend watching re-runs of Friends on the couch at 2 o'clock in the afternoon is a second of your life that you traded for something else. I'm not saying that anything is wrong with watching some TV and vegging out on the couch but it's not something that I recommend on a daily basis.

 Speaking as someone that battled months of clinical depression and never left the couch that whole time, I would much rather be spending my time elsewhere. This process, even though it's been painful, tough and at times, torturous, has opened my eyes to what life is truly about. It has taught me how to be a better person and I will work for the rest of my life to stay the kind and understanding person that I have learned to be through my medical journey.

 I have been given a second chance and I'm grateful for that because not everyone gets a second chance in life. I appreciate every second of my life on this earth. I have the freedom to swim, to skydive, to rock climb, to para-sail should I wish it. Despite what all of the experts said, my life is far from over and one day when I'm on the New York Times Best Sellers List, they'll know that too. 

Now granted, everyone has problems and some peoples' problems are much bigger than others'. However, not to sound corny but, life is what you make it. The purpose of this blog is to spread my message of positivity to the world. I'm not saying that I never complain about life and that nothing ever gets on my nerves, but negativity is contagious. When people are negative, it's much easier to get sucked into that frame of mind and way of thinking. Positivity takes more work but the benefits are so much bigger and better.

You have one life and you should go out and live it to the best of your ability. Make yourself and the others around you happy but above all, appreciate the life you've been given. As you're taking your next breath, someone else in the world is taking their last. So cherish your life, your family, your experiences and even your struggles because that's what they are... yours. 

Nothing in this world is guaranteed except uncertainty. And when life throws you a curve-ball, just adjust your bat a little bit but still imagine yourself hitting that home run. Everyone has joys and everyone has sorrows but hey... it sounds like life to me.