The List

This is not a list of things to be done prior to me ‘kicking the bucket’. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it would be one of my proudest achievements to be able to cross off the last item of this list before I finally greet death. And yet, as happy as that would make ‘Past Nic’, I’m sure ‘Future Nic’ has plans of his own.

Take these as sign posts I’ve driven into the ground to help me navigate the path of life, not the kilometer markers leading to the turnpike. Hopes, not expectations. It’s a subtle but significant difference, but for those curious - my true bucket list can be found at the bottom

Travel

• Visit all 7 continents
  • Antarctica
  • South America
  • North America
  • Africa
  • Europe
  • Asia
  • Oceania
• Visit 10 countries
• Visit 25 countries
• Visit 50 countries
• Visit 100 countries
• Visit 200 countries
• Visit Iceland
• Visit Morocco
• Visit Alaska
• Visit the Louvre in France
• Visit the Eiffel Tower in France
• Visit Stonehenge in Britain
• Visit the Greek Islands
• Visit the Colosseum in Rome
• Visit Auschwitz in Germany
• Visit the Acropolis in Greece
• Visit a Scotch Distillery in Scotland
• Visit the Sahara Desert
• Visit the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt
• Visit the Great Wall of China
• Visit the Taj Mahal in India
• Visit Angkor Wat in Cambodia
• Visit Angel Falls in Argentina
• Visit Easter Island in Chile
• Visit space … we’ll see about this one
• Fill a passport before it expires

Experience - Location-Based

• Hike the Grand Canyon in the USA
• Climb Mt. Rainier in USA
• Climb 20 Adirondack peaks in the USA
• Attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans
• Attend the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico
• Backpack Alone in Europe
• Ride the London Eye in Britain
• See the Changing of the Guards in Britain
• Ride a Gondola in Venice
• Add a lock to the Lovelock Bridge in Paris
• Attend Octoberfest in Germany
• Attend St Patricks day in Ireland
• Party in Ibiza in Spain
• Eat Sushi in Japan
• Attend Holi in India
• See a show at the Sydney Opera House in Australia
• Dive in the Red Sea in Egypt
• Drive through the Kingdom in the Sky in Lesotho
• Climb Machu Picchu in Peru
• Attend the Carnival in Brazil
• Walk on the Equator
• Snorkel in the Coral Reef - before its too late :(

Experience - Canada

• Hike the West-Coast Trail
• Skate on the Rideau Canal
• Hitchhike across Canada
• See Big Lonely Doug
• Canoe to James Bay
• See the Aurora Borealis in FULL
• Visit Haida Gwaii
• See a Kodiak Bear
• See a Whale
• Visit all 3 territories
• Visit every province
• Visit Dinosaur Provincial Park
• Do the Polar Plunge

Adventure

• Go dogsledding
• Go kiteboarding
• Go paragliding or hang-gliding
• Go surfing
• Go skydiving
• Go bungee jumping
• Go indoor skydiving
• Go ice-climbing
• Go scuba-diving
• Go cave-diving
• Go ski touring
• Go heli skiing or CAT skiing
• Go on a cruise
• Go wing-walking
• Go white water rafting
• Go jet skiing
• Go to a shooting range
• Go cage diving with sharks
• Fly an airplane
• Ride in a helicopter
• Ride in a hot air balloon
• Ride in a submarine
• Ride on a camel
• ~~Swim with manatees ~~
• Swim with manatees…again
• Swim with dolphins
• Swim with bioluminescent plankton
• Swim in every ocean
• Spend a night in a Treehouse
• Spend a night in an Ice Hotel
• Spend a night in a Yurt
• Summit a mountain over 6000 meters
• Experience zero gravity
• Witness a Geyser explode
• See an active Volcano (and see flowing lava)
• Take part in a protest
• Take part in some sort of riot
• Walk on a Glacier
• Attend a Cirque de Soleil show
• Attend the Olympics
• Attend a Dark Dinner
• Live for at least one year in another country (NOT Travelling)
• Be barefoot for at least a month
• Experience sleeping on the streets for at least a month
• Go on a road trip for at least a month
• Go on a canoe trip for at least a month
• Go on a sailing trip for at least a month
• Be an extra in a movie

Career

• Get a university degree
• Publish a paper
• Present at a conference
• Start my own business
• Publish a book
• Be on a Talk Show
• Be listed on a Patent
• Give a TED Talk
• Code my own personal website
• Start a blog

Skills & Certs

• Learn another language fluently
• Learn to solve a Rubik’s cube
• Memorize 100 digits of pi
• Learn the capital, flag and location of every country
• Learn to do a standing backflip
• Get a CPR, First Aid, and Wilderness First-Aid Cert
• Get my Ski Coaching certification
• Get my Swim Instructing certification
• Get my Swift Water Paddling Level 1
• Get my Swift Water Paddling Level 2
• Take a massage class
• Take a pottery class
• Take a cooking class
• Take a dance class
• Knit something
• Get a scuba diving certification
• Ge legally ordained

Life

• Buy a car
• Buy a motorcycle and get my M license
• Buy a home
• Build a Tinyhome
• Get Married to the love of my life
• Have a child (adopted or otherwise)
• Witness a friends nuptials as a groomsman~~
• Donate at least $10,000 to a charity or cause
• Write a Will
• Host an exchange student or immigrant
• Witness a dying breath

Physical

• Run a half-marathon
• Run a full marathon
• Run a 5-minute mile
• Swim 5km

Just for Fun

• Swim in every great lake within 24 hours
• Say yes to everything for one week
• Start a geocache
• Collect sand from 50 countries
• Be in a life-threatening situation
• Release an EP of my own music
• Join the mile-high club
• Skinny dip with a partner
• Read 50 books from the NYT bestsellers list
• Watch IMDBs top 100 movies
• Get into a fist fight
• Spontaneously buy a same-day ticket to another country

The “Bucket List”

• Significantly change the lives of those around me for the better
• Consistently help my peers see value in themselves
• Be able to empathize and relate to as many people as possible
• Keep an open mind
• Give more than I take from this world
• Be thoroughly used up when I die