My Shot Glass is Half-Full: a Bucket List for 20-Somethings

At some point, 30 approaches, which is scary. We’re becoming adults, but we shouldn’t have to wait until 65 and retirement (ha!) to start our bucket lists. Lauren K. Johnson, for inspiration, shares for you her list for 20-somethings — her shot glass list.

By: Lauren K. Johnson

Photo Credit: 20 Something Magazine on Instagram

In our 20s, life seems to speed up. If we’re lucky we go from yearning to jump ahead to adulthood to actually being an adult, complete with the education, paycheck, apartment in the city we always wanted—and lots of things we didn’t anticipate. Student loans. Stress of a 9-to-5 that’s really more like 8-to-6. The task of cleaning said apartment in the city. At the end of the day, we just don’t have the time or the energy to live the glamorous adult life we imagined.

I recently turned 29, and I’m not exactly where I pictured my verging-on-30 self. I’m back in school, unemployed and living with three cats. I’ve done a lot of things I never thought I would—bought a condo, gone to war, ran a marathon, adopted three cats. But there are some fairly basic adult-ish things I’ve never done. I’ve never hosted a dinner party with an entrée other than frozen pizza. I’ve never grown a plant, or even kept an already-growing one alive for more than a few months. And like many of my 20-something friends, sometimes I feel like I’ve forgotten how to just let loose and have fun. So as my third decade slips away, I’m determined not to let my youthful ambitions—or my childhood fascinations—leave with it.

Thanks to the digital age, rounding out a bucket list (or for quarter-life matters, a “shot glass list”) is easier than ever; there are entire websites dedicated to crazy/cool/unusual destinations and activities. The first 10 items on this list are things I’ve done which, for whatever reason (life experience, perspective, masochism) I think you should too. The final 20, coming next week, are my goals for this next year. If I survive, next January I’ll pass along my newfound 30-something wisdom.

Follow along as I suck the last drops of vodka out of the shot glass that is my 20s!

(Many thanks to Brian Toomay, Lucus VanTassel, Gabby Dahlman, Debbie Johnson, Shannon LeBlanc, Emily Avery-Miller, Colin Halloran, Jacob Seifert and Amanda Talley, who contributed ideas for this list)

Slideshow:

One
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Take an epic road trip: America is full of diversity, from well-known tourist destinations to quirky off-the-beaten-path gems (you may have heard of the gigantic ball of twine, but what about the mammoth paper cup or the huge pair of legs?). In 2006, I drove with my mom from Seattle to my Air Force base on the Florida panhandle. We took our time, stopping at national parks, back road cafes, and hotels where we had to push the dresser in front of the door for safety and wear flipflops in the shower. There’s a lot to experience without crossing an ocean or boarding a plane.
Two
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Go skydiving, or engage in some other crazy activity where you might die but will probably just have a lot of fun: In college I went skydiving. Five times. Solo. You probably won’t be able to do that (it was an Air Force training thing, sorry), but then again, you probably don’t want to. I was terrified. I’m pretty sure someone must have pushed me out of the plane every time. There was maybe one second in my 10-second freefall where I thought it was cool. The other nine I was thinking holy crap I’m plummeting toward the earth at 120mph! But then my parachute opened and coolness overpowered the moderate terror that remained. The world looks different from 4,000 feet. It was the closest I imagine I’ll ever feel to flying.
Three
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Accomplish an awesome athletic feat: Awesome is in the eye of the beholder; everyone has different physical capabilities. Whatever yours are, accomplishing something that requires hard work and dedication, that pushes your body to its limits, fulfills you in a way nothing else can. In 2009 I ran the Houston marathon. It was surprisingly fun—the kind of fun I never want to have again. Sore muscles left me hobbling for a week, but I felt like I could conquer the world. Plus, I still look like a badass whenever I wear my finisher t-shirt to the gym.
Four
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Talk to a random person on public transportation: I’ve always been the kind of passenger who sticks in headphones or buries my face in a magazine as soon as I board a plane. I’d much rather use travel time to catch up on sleep or pop culture than talk to someone I’ll never see again. Then I tried talking once. And it was pretty amazing. From Atlanta to DC, I learned about the life of a banker who’d recently been laid off, and he learned about my experiences in the military. We laughed, we pondered, we established a genuine human connection. As we parted ways in the terminal, we didn’t exchange email addresses or become Facebook friends, but I’ll never forget that conversation. It’s so easy to get caught up in our privacy bubble and forget that people are interesting and everyone has a story to tell. Sometimes it feels good to listen.
Five
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Share your story: On a related note to #4 sometimes it feels good to talk. A college English professor of mine said, “Everyone has at least one book inside them.” Don’t ever underestimate the value of your own story. For me, this is a work in progress. I’m earning my MFA in creative nonfiction writing and working on a memoir about my military experiences. I recently had my first essay published, and gave a presentation at the Boston Book Festival. My next step: getting paid? Hey, a girl can dream.
Six
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Do something selfless to make the world better: Call it a cop out if you will, but I’m counting my military service here. You don’t have to run out and enlist (though I hear the Army is always hiring), there are literally thousands of ways to help your local community, however you’re best equipped and most interested in doing so. Serve at a soup kitchen, buy a meal for the homeless guy you walk by every morning, donate gifts for an angel tree. The single most rewarding moment of my military career was bringing a box of school supplies and soccer balls to an African schoolhouse. I’ll never forget the gratitude. It cost me $20.
Seven
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Travel: Besides making you sound smart and cultured at my dinner party (#15), traveling gives you perspective. Go to a third world country and gain appreciation for how fortunate you are (if you’re reading this on the internet, you’re fortunate). Go to Europe and trace the progression of modern civilization. See the artwork, architecture and battlefields you read about in high school. Be amazed. Be humbled. And wherever you go, read these (click the slide to follow link).
Eight
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Stand up for something you believe in: In the military you give up a little of your freedom of speech, so I feel inclined to remind everyone how awesome that freedom is. If you’re my friend on Facebook, you know I’ve been known to rant now and then about veteran’s issues. Heck, I started a blog (click the slide to travel to that blog) about it. I don’t expect to change anyone’s mind, let alone change the world, but I wouldn’t feel right keeping my mouth shut regarding something I feel so passionate about. And who knows? Maybe in some small way I will make a difference. As Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Nine
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Stalk someone: Seriously. I met a boyfriend and several longtime friends through internet stalking. Online social networks make it so easy to find people with similar interests. Moving to a new city? Stalk current residents. Starting a new job or school program? Stalk colleagues. Attending an event? Stalk presenters or other guests. Be shameless. Being ignored is the worst that can happen. (And if someone ignores you they obviously haven’t read this list and are therefore not worth pursuing a relationship with).
Ten
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See a legend: We all have artistic idols—those performers we can brag about seeing to our future children. Personally, I have a strange obsession with Billy Joel. In 2008 I saw him headline the New Orleans Jazz Festival. It was cold and rainy, I had to sacrifice a pair of flipflops to the shin-deep mud, and I missed half the set waiting in line at the port-a-potty, but I will never forget when he whipped out his harmonica for Piano Man. Legendary.

Additional Photo Credit: Photo Four is “Virgin America flight interior” by Flickr user Marc Smith (Licensed by CC 3.0)

The next 20 of the list! Click here!

Lauren K. Johnson (@LaurenKayJ), an Afghanistan veteran and former military public affairs officer, has won regional and national-level Department of Defense journalism awards. Her work has appeared in Mason’s Road, the Edmonds Enterprise, and numerous Department of Defense publications, including military.com, Tip of the Spear magazine and Special Operations Technology. Lauren is earning an MFA in nonfiction writing at Emerson College in Boston, where she is completing a memoir about the experience of female soldiers during and after war. She blogs at uncamouflaged.blogspot.com.