A Nine-Year Bucket List

 A long, long time ago, I made a bucket list of sorts of goals I wanted to accomplish before I turned 40. This was made the day before I turned 34. Two years had passed between the first mention of the list and the last time I talked about it. 

A lot has happened in that time. 

A lot. In fact, the first three things on my original list got shaken up dramatically. I lost the love I found unexpectedly in January 2022. When she died, the goals of marrying her and starting a family with her were evaporated too, so, I just looked at those remaining goals with tear-soaked eyes and felt it was pointless to even try them. 

As I mentioned before, the remainer of 2022 feeling cursed, frustrated, angry, and alone. The world was changing for the worse, and I still have anxieties about a lot of things. But I have to have hope because I'm still here.

And I still have things I need to do.

At the time of THIS writing, I'm 46, so a good 12 years have passed. I’m blessed. I have my health. I have my hair. It's much grayer than it was when I started the original list (about 70% black and 30% gray), but it's all there. Here are some things I want to cross off before I turn 55. I have nine years to do these things, so more time for me, I hope.

1. Find love again. This is probably going to be the hardest thing for me to do because I'm still processing the loss of my first real love. I know I have to move on, but I don't want to go on this journey of life alone. I'll find another girl one day, but it's going to be a while.
2. Marry that love and raise a family.
3. Write a novel.
4. Write a few non-fiction history books.
5. Write a mystery series.
6. Write a serialized dramatic story.
7. Create an animated series.
8. Create a TV series.
9. Write a story bible for a TV series.
10. Create comic books.
11. Create web comics.
12. Create a video series.
13. Create a streaming/FAST channel.
14. See the Pacific Ocean at sunrise.
15. Learn 3D modeling.
16. Learn 3D printing.
17. Create and print an action figure from scratch.
18. Create a Muppet-like puppet from scratch.
19. Learn how to animate using Toon Boom and create a short.
20. Learn cel-shading and comic-shading techniques on Krita
21. See a live taping of Saturday Night Live.
22. Relaunch The X Bridge as something better than it was.
23. Write a Superman project for DC.
24. Write a Spider-Man project for Marvel.
25. Bake French desserts from scratch at home.
26. Ride the London Eye.
27. Paint large murals and large-scale paintings.
28. Attend a show taping at Warner Bros Studios.
29. Take a selfie in front of the Warner Bros Watertower.
30. Build a computer from scratch.
31. Ask a tour guide if we could see the basement at the Alamo.
32. Visit the Ghibli Museum.
33. Eat a lobster roll in Maine.
34. Attend a luau in Honolulu. 
35. Write a weekly column in a major print or web magazine.
36. Ride on a train across the country.
37. Sell a series idea to a major network or streamer.
38. Write a screenplay.
39. Write a stage play.
40. Take better care of myself physically, mentally, and emotionally.
41. Take more creative, personal, and professional risks.
42. Eat alligator po' boy.
43. See a Lakers/Celtics game at the former Staples Center.
44. See an Orioles/Yankees game at Camden Yards.
45. See a Washington Commanders home game in person (because my grandfather, a longtime fan of the team, never did).
46. Try voice acting.
47. Write an audio drama series.
48. Make a four-course meal.
49. Be more assertive and happier with life.
50. Reach 50.
51. Don't get discouraged about not completing everything on this list (but keep going).

It's really not much. Granted for a poor boy like me, it'll be a challenge. You have to start somewhere, and I choose to begin today.