His heart races and he can feel the sweat clinging to his shirt as he runs for his life. The sound of fury charges behind him, drowning out his thoughts as bystanders watch from their windows and balconies. He can hear the sound of the crowd roar as the beast reaches his speed; he can feel the heat of the fury’s body against his own, sending chills up his spine as the race for his life continues. So is the expectation of Ridge Dale, 24, creative writing major, as he adds running with the bulls in Spain to his bucket list. The term “bucket list” is derived from the idiom “to kick the bucket,” which is one of several references to death. “I guess kicking the bucket would be a metaphor for dying and you fill your bucket up with all the things that you want to do before you kick that bucket,” Dale said. The true origins of the phrase are a mystery, however, the idioms and expressions website claims that when animals were to be slaughtered, they were tied to a beam known as a “bucket,” and as the animals were dying they would kick the bucket—birthing a new idiom and expression concerning death. “I think everyone has a bucket list. There are several things I want to do before I die,” Alyssa Pilone, 20, Kinesiology major, said. “I want to backpack through Europe and spend multiple months there. I want to do things that put me out of my comfort zone.” The items on students bucket lists range from intense sports like skydiving or swimming with sharks, to more common actions such as growing a beard or accomplishing a sexual endeavor. One student shoots for the sky with her bucket lists and wishes to push herself both mentally and physically with the number one item on her list. “I would like to climb Mt. Everest at some point and ideally, not die in the process of doing so,” Tara Brown, 22, English and French major said. Among other items on her list, Brown wishes to be the first female to reside with the monks in Nepal and spend time in solitude and meditation for an extended period of time, thus breaking boundaries and changing an ancient concept of sexism. Crossing off the items on his bucket list has not stopped Blair Gibson, anthropology instructor, from continuing on his search for adventure. “There are all sorts of travels to places that I’ve always wanted to go see that are on my list and I’m actually getting pretty close to getting to the end of that list,” Gibson said. “If I were to die tomorrow I would die happy.” Gibson’s list includes visiting Guatemala and seeing a major Mayan city, as well as traveling to Europe, China and being a published author, all of which he has crossed off his list. “It is important to have goals. The most important ingredient to individual success is to have goals in life and things that motivate and interest you. It gives you principals to help guide you in your life pathway,” Gibson said. Creating a bucket list can be more than just a list of ideas, but rather, a list of achievements one can be proud of, something to share with family and friends, and mostly importantly, something to live for.
EC students’ bucket list
Answers from a survey of 30 students
EC Union editors’ bucket list
1. Flirt your way out of a ticket
2. Go to a music festival
3. Get a tattoo or piercing
4. Engage in a menage-a-trois or
sexual experimentation
5. Go to Miami for spring break
