My Reverse Bucket List

When I read my friend Annie’s post about her reverse bucket list a while back, I fell in love with the idea.  It’s so easy to dream about all the adventures we will enjoy one day and forget about all the amazing things we’ve already been able to do.  Today, I’m rounding up some silly old pictures and sharing some stories about some of my favorite things I’ve crossed off my bucket list and done so far.  Have you done any of these things?

My Reverse Bucket List

1) Grew up somewhere that people make TV shows about

True life…I grew up in Orange County, CA.  I was in high school when The OC and Laguna Beach got super popular and it was always so funny to meet people from out of state who couldn’t believe I lived where those shows took place.  I will say that my life wasn’t quite like those TV shows, even though we did practically live at the beach in the summer time!

Newport Beach – Our daily summer destination once we all could drive!

2) Gone on an African safari

When I was 17, I went on a service trip to Kenya with my church.  We finished two weeks of volunteering with a two-day safari in the Masai-Mara, a region famous for beautiful wildlife.  We got to see so many incredible things, including a cheetah chasing down a gazelle, lions lounging in the sun, and hippos that we watched nervously while perched on the tree branch in this picture.  Even though I got the sickest I’ve ever been on this trip (I take full blame for eating questionable fish from Lake Victoria), it was an incredible experience!

3) Moved across the country by myself

When I graduated from high school, I moved 3,000 miles from home to a school where I knew no one.  It was wonderful and terrifying and absolutely invigorating and I would do it again in a heartbeat! The friends I made at Davidson made me who I am today and I am so glad I took the risk to make that move on my own instead of staying close to home or going to school with a friend because I was scared.

“Studying” at Davidson’s beautiful lake campus on Lake Norman

4) Learned multiple new languages

Even though I took four years of Latin in high school, I fell in love with languages in college.  I started with Spanish 101 my freshman year of college, fell in love with it, and became a Spanish major. From there I also studied German, French, and ancient Greek and can still have basic conversations in two of those (the modern ones).  Studying all of those languages (and even becoming proficient/fluent in one of them) is an accomplishment I am so very proud of!

German cookies my best friend and I made for our intensive German class!

5) Watched teenagers meet Jesus for the first time

Until I became a Young Life leader and watched hurting high schoolers find hope in Jesus, I don’t think I truly understood what the Gospel meant.  Being a Young Life leader for four years was amazing and more transformative than I ever could have predicted.  This ministry will always have a special place in my heart, just like the sweet group of girls I led and loved from their freshman year of high school until they graduated.

At the annual Lake Norman Young Life Ice Cream Wars

6) Met my husband at summer camp

When I dreamed about meeting my future husband as a teenager, I never would have predicted we’d meet at summer camp.  But lo and behold, that’s our somewhat ridiculous story.  Dating long-distance for the last two years of college wasn’t ideal, but I look back and see all the ways that it was so important for our relationship and our story.  Jordan will always be my camp crush! 😉 [You can read our full love story here!]

The neon-wearing, pretzel making, buzz cut rocking guy I fell in love with!

7) Lived in a remote, rural village in Panama

After college, I did a mini-version of the Peace Corps and lived in a tiny, 100 person village in the mountains of Panama.  I’m talking no running water, electricity, AC, or protection from the many small (and not so small) critters that shared that part of the world with my new friends and family there (like the 3-inch long scorpion I woke up to on my pillow my first morning there). It was an incredibly hard summer and I missed my soon-to-be fiance and husband terribly but I’m so proud of myself for pushing through.  The people I met there were incredibly kind, generous, and wonderful and I’m grateful for that time I had with them.

My host dad and I with a monkey he caught (and released soon after because monkeys are really stinking mean!)

8) Got married!

This one was a game-changer.  Our wedding was beautiful, sunny, and full of so much sweetness with people from every season of our lives.  It was such a slow, surreal day and I wouldn’t change a thing about it (including the amazing and wonderful man I married).  We’re coming up on three years and I’m so grateful to share all the ups and downs of it with my favorite guy!

9) Backpacked through Europe

Two summers ago, Jordan and I spent five weeks backpacking through Europe.  We traveled through Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and France and made so many incredible memories.  From drinking delicious German beer in the streets of Munich and hiking through the Alps to running through the Scottish Highlands and eating Parisian pastries, it was the trip of a lifetime.  I’m so glad we did that trip before we accomplished the next thing on our bucket list (see below), but I am excited to travel with our children and show them the world one day. (I’ve written a lot about our travels on this blog, so check out my travel posts for more details on our trips!)

German beer: One of the best parts of our entire trip!

10) Made a real, live human

Last, but definitely not least, one of the most amazing and humbling things I’ve ever done: creating a human being.  It blows my mind that God allowed us to partner with him in this beautiful act of bringing new life into the world and I can’t imagine anything more transformative than that.

What are some of your favorite fun and adventurous things you’ve done? Are any of them similar to mine?