Bucket Lists and a Big Announcement

I want to talk about one of my favorite things today: lists. Bucket lists, to be exact. I’ve always been a list-loving, list-making fool, so it only makes sense that I have a three-page rainbow bucket list to keep track of all the things I want to accomplish and all the places I want to see in my life. To me, it seems like a completely foreign concept to have anything but a bucket list. I mean, why wouldn’t you want one? Why wouldn’t you want an excuse to use fancy colorful pens? But now I realize that there are, in fact, mixed feelings about having bucket lists, and that’s what I’m writing this post for. I need your opinion!

Arguments TO have a bucket list:

• Like I already mentioned, you get an excuse to use fancy pens, pretty paper, and your best handwriting. What more could you ask for?
• You can list everything you’ve always wanted to do in your life in one place. You don’t have to worry about forgetting something, and whenever you plan vacations or activities, you know exactly what you need to accomplish in order to chip away at your bucket list. It gives you a sense of direction and can hold you accountable to accomplish your dreams. By having a tangible, written list, it creates a sense of urgency to chase after your goals and get ‘er done, turning you into a do-er instead of just a planner.
• When you have a physical list, you get to cross the items off after you complete them! There’s nothing more satisfying than the feeling of accomplishment you get by crossing an item off a list. Am I right, or am I right?

On the other hand, these are the arguments NOT to have a bucket list:

• It creates too much pressure. By having a huge list, you may be setting yourself up for failure and disappointment. How can you possibly accomplish everything in one lifetime? Like many people, one of my biggest fears in life is not achieving all my dreams. In a lot of ways, a bucket list can be a physical representation of failure and only exasperate those fearful feelings.
• You’d rather live a spontaneous, in-the-moment life. The other sentiment I’ve heard from people who don’t like bucket lists is this: “I want to do fun things when the opportunities present themselves—unplanned and unexpected—rather than constantly chasing after items that are written on a piece of paper.”

While the con arguments are different from what I’ve believed my entire life, I’m starting to understand the appeal of not having a bucket list. Does mine stress me out sometimes because I worry I won’t be able to finish it all? Of course! Do I still love those spontaneous, unexpected moments where I get to do something amazing? Absolutely! Yes, I’m terrified of dying with an unfinished bucket list, but I don’t think I’m ready to give mine up just yet. I need the sense of direction and vision to push myself to actually do stuff, rather than just dreaming of it.

So what do you all think?? I’m not trying to sway you either way—I genuinely want to know your thoughts on bucket lists. If you do or do not have one, please feel free to tell me why in the comments! And if you do have one, I’d love to hear some of the items on your list.

The reason I wanted to talk about bucket lists today is because I have a big announcement. Right now, as you read this, I am in France with my older brother. Just the two of us, no parents, about to embark on the journey of a lifetime: walking the Camino de Santiago across Spain. The Camino is a network of pathways for pilgrims, or peregrinos, to walk across Spain and experience the route that Saint James himself supposedly took to spread the word of God. While the pilgrimage is traditionally spiritual/religious in nature, there are many other reasons to embark on this hike: to practice Spanish in a Spanish-speaking country, to exercise or test your level of fitness, to spend one-on-one time with someone close to you (in my case, my older brother), to meet people from other countries, to experience another culture and see another country, or some combination of all the above. I’m not sure I know exactly what my purpose for doing the Camino is yet, but I know I will discover it along the way.

My brother and I will be walking the French Way, which begins in Saint Jean Pied de Port in the south of France and travels 500 miles to the region of Galicia in Spain, where the hike finishes at the Cathedral of Santiago. We will be backpacking, carrying only 20-25 pounds of necessities each (as shown in the photo above, taken during one of my training hikes), and we will stay in hostels along the way. The trip should (hopefully) take 35 days, and we will return to the United States in August. I’m only bringing two outfits (gasp!), so get ready to see lots of innovativeness in my looks. My OOTD videos on Instagram might start to look a little familiar… So today I’m wearing this dry-fit top and REI pants AGAIN, surprise surprise.

I’m only kidding, but that is my purpose for writing this post. Walking the Camino de Santiago has been on my bucket list for a few years now, and I can’t believe it’s finally happening. As you may have gathered, I will not be bringing my laptop and am going to try my best to stay off of technology while abroad. So what does this mean for you, my readers? I have prescheduled all of my blog posts for the month of July, so new content will still be published every Monday and Thursday, as usual. I hope you will continue to enjoy it while I’m gone! I most likely will not be responding to emails or comments, so please remember that I’m not ignoring you—I’ll respond to everyone once I return. I will also most likely be absent from Instagram while away. I hope to still post my usual feed pictures, but I won’t be posting much to Stories or sharing OOTD videos (obviously).

As always, thank you all for your continued support and for reading my blog. Remember to tell me your views about bucket lists in the comments below, and I’ll talk to you on the other side!

Miles of smiles,

Grace