My Bucket List
Carter Chambers
When I was in college, our professor gave us this assignment. We were supposed to make a list of all the things we wanted to do before we kicked the bucket.
Here's my list in no particular order.
1. Make a feature length full budget film.
2. Be a radio talk show host if only for a day.
3. Run a newspaper.
4. Own a house.
5. Learn Italian.
6. Learn to play the piano.
7. England.
8. Ireland.
9. Italy.
10. Go back to Vienna.
11. Go back to Puerto Barrios.
12. California.
13. Learn the art of photography.
14. Learn the art of sound recording.
15. Become an actor.
16. Be a journalist.
17. Find a soulmate.
18. Be husband and a father that inspires other husbands and fathers to raise their standard of living for themselves and their families.
19. Be a published author (novel).
20. Write feature length screenplays that are produced and cause the films to be talked about for decades to come.
There's a line in Something the Lord Made that goes like this:
Dr. Alfred Blalock
They say you haven't lived unless you have a lot to regret. I regret...I have some regrets. But I think we should remember not what we lost, but what we've done.
I would have to disagree with that last part. I think that it's important to remember what has been lost. We are humans and we learn not by being right but by being wrong. It is our mistakes that give us our most valuable lessons in life. I think this is because of the pain and the grief that they cause us.
I made a very rash decision once. I decided to react to someone who wasn't giving me the attention that I craved. I was jealous that someone else was getting attention that I thought should be mine. My reaction was so brutal that that it cause co-lateral damage and life-long scars for all those involved. I have lost many friends over my actions and regret the decision I made.
But it's because of my losses that I came to my senses. I was able to see myself for what I really am and decided I needed to do something about it while I still had the chance.
Instead of killing me, my decision has made me stronger. It was not the right thing to do and this will haunt me until the day I die, not because of what was lost but because of the pain I caused and the lack of character I showed. Though I still think I am correct in my assessment, I dealt with the situation in the wrong way. It is a costly mistake and it makes me constantly evaluate my daily interactions with people.
So I have something to regret. I remember what I lost, even if it was only fictitious. I remember what I have done as well, both the good and the bad. My penance is my ultimate goal in life: to raise the standard of living for those around me so that they in turn raise the standard of living of those around them. We each must choose to better ourselves to in turn make the world a better place around us. We can only affect those we come in contact with and ultimately only have control over ourselves. It's like the line in Gladiator:
Maximus
What we do in life echoes in eternity.
Ultimately, I want to help people. I hate dealing with people who are slow to learn because I lack the patience to help them learn. Granted, learning is a two-way street. The best teacher in the world cannot teach those who do not wish to learn; this is one of life's greatest paradoxes. It is because of my fallibility that I recluse myself--a poor excuse for handling the situation indeed.
I can only change me and lead by example. If one day I have lived long enough to be a good example and overcome my flaws I may be able to have influence to teach others in a more hands on approach. I thank God that I live in a county where I have the freedom to become whatever I put my energies into becoming or, as the Founding Father's so eloquently put it, I have the unalienable Right...[to] the pursuit of Happiness.
I now put the question to you: What do you want to accomplish before you kick the bucket?