100 things you want to do in college and beyond

Have you seen the new hit show “The Buried Life” on MTV yet? On the show, three guys travel around the world in a purple transit bus to complete their list of 100 things to do before they die and encourage others to do the same. Those guys are on to something: get excited about your dreams and goals, start checking off some of the things you want to do before you die, and then pay it forward and help others do the same thing.

Have you created a Bucket List yet? If not, get started on one. College is a great time to create your list because, as the cliché goes, you have your whole life ahead of you!


What kinds of things would you want to be on it? Be as creative or generic, specific or vague as you want to be – this is your Bucket List! To get started, you might want to imagine that you’re at your 30th, 40th or 50th birthday party. When your friends and family are sitting around the table reminiscing, what are the things you hope they’re talking about? The time you climbed Mt. Everest or visited the Taj Mahal? Or your big promotion when you were 25? There are so many things you can do, so it might help to break your Bucket List up into categories, such as “Professional” and “Personal.” Then you are forced to dig a little deeper with your list.

Your Bucket List is a living document – hopefully you will keep adding to it as your life moves forward and expands. But, it definitely helps to take some time to think about the things that you’d want to do sooner rather than later. For example, going backpacking through South America for a summer might not be quite as easy once you’re in full career and family mode. So take a few minutes to focus on what you want to accomplish in the time you have left in school. And don’t forget that your Coach is the perfect resource for asking you the questions that will really get you to think about, clarify, and break down your goals!

So why not make your list this Spring break? Or maybe even get started on some of your items! Think how great it will be when you are at your 50th birthday party, looking at this Bucket List and the things that you have done and crossed off… and the things that remain that you want to have done by your 90th birthday!

Stumped on what to add to your list? Here are some ideas to get you going…

Professional

While in College

• Join the business fraternity (AKPsi)
• Get a Marketing internship
• Job-shadow at a movie production company
• Study abroad in Germany for a semester
• Join Toastmasters
• Get a part time job at a concert venue

Post-Graduation

• Start my own record label
• Get my MBA at a top-ten school
• Get a job I love doing ______________________
• Work in another country for a year
• Own a property in Hawaii
• Open my own sushi restaurant

Personal

While in College

• Learn how to surf
• Try vegetarianism for a month
• Go to at least one away-basketball game
• Do a volunteer trip working with kids one summer

Post-graduation

• Go skydiving
• Run a half-marathon
• Plant a vegetable garden
• Adopt a Greyhound from an animal shelter
• Learn how to ride a unicycle
• Become a certified yoga instructor

Maximizing your spring break

Ahhh, Spring break…for most students, Spring Break offers a chance to kick back and relax before the stress of final exams. For some, this is the most important use of this time: reenergizing, recharging and giving you a well deserved break from school. If this is you, then take this time so that you come back to school focused on the last part of the term.

And for other students, resting and recharging also leaves time and energy to be productive and get ahead. Here are some ideas for how to put this extra energy to good use during your time off.

Smaller-Picture Stuff
Map out your time between now and the end of the semester
I know it might feel like the semester just started, but the rest of the year is going to fly by. Make sure you’re ready for it by taking an hour or so to map out what you have planned for the next few months. You can put everything on your calendar or simply list it out. Getting clarity on what you need to get done will save you headaches and stress. Plus, a month from now you won’t kick yourself for not getting organized when you actually had the time.

Investigate summer job opportunities
Whether you are staying near school or going back home for the summer, Spring Break is the perfect time to start making phone calls and sending emails to nail down the job you want. If you are going home for the week, arrange some in-person meetings/interviews with potential employers. That way, you can get it out of the way before the end of the semester, and you can stand out to employers and surpass the hordes of other students competing for the exact same summer jobs.

Research your housing options for next year
If you are staying on-campus next year, research your rooming options and the deadlines for getting your paperwork in on time, picking your roommates, etc. If you are looking to move off-campus, now is the ideal time to start researching where you want to live. Start by identifying the features you want, and then work to eliminate the unlikely candidates and slowly hone in on the potential ones. Though many landlords won’t talk seriously with you until you are 30-60 days before your move-in date, many students make arrangements to pass their housing on to other students early. Get ahead by talking to seniors who are moving or studying abroad next year to see if you can take over their place.

Bigger-Picture Stuff
Dive into internship possibilities, job shadowing, and networking opportunities for the future
Spring Break offers a great opportunity to organize your internship or career search. Research the companies that you want to work for in the future and make some calls to see if you can set up informational interviews. In order to really maximize your meetings, read up on the company and industry, plan out the questions to ask, and think about how you want to present yourself. If you can make a great first impression now with a personal contact, imagine what opportunities could be waiting for you down the line.

Volunteer
Take this week to get involved with something bigger than yourself. Here’s a great website to start with: www.volunteermatch.org. Besides the obvious of helping others, volunteering is a wonderful way to meet like-minded people and build up your resume with relevant experience. For example, if you are pre-med, check out opportunities at the local hospital; if you want to go into education, try tutoring at-risk youth; if you are pre-law, find a non-profit that offers free legal advice. And you never know: a week of volunteering could turn into life-long civic engagement.

Whether you set yourself up to be full of energy for the rest of the term, get organized for the next six months, or focus on the bigger picture, taking full advantage of your Spring break will be one of the best things you do for yourself this year, no doubt about it!