This is the first (and probably only) summer break I’ve had in a long time without summer work. For the last few summers, I have spent countless hours doing notes, getting ahead for classes, writing essays….I don’t have to any of that this summer, so making a summer bucket list seemed like a good idea. This is freeing and daunting at the same time because I haven’t had this freedom in a long time. I am also able to drive now, which adds even MORE freedom into the mix. I decided to make a little bucket list for this summer. I hope you enjoy.
//Go to the pool
I do go to the pool, but I would like to go more this summer than I usually do. I enjoy swimming and spending time with my family (who are usually at the pool with me.) I’m not putting a number for this one. We’ll see what happens.
//Go on a Trip
I might as well check this off now. We have a lot of trips planned for this summer. My mom’s brother’s family from Australia is coming to the U.S for the first time, so we’re going to travel to a lot of parts of the U.S. We’re going to Florida to visit family there. We are also going to Disney World, while we’re there. My cousin in New York is also getting married, so we’re going up there for the wedding. While we’re there, I’m also going to watch the broadway show Matilda with my cousins. I’m really excited. We’ll also probably stop at places on the way to NY, like Tennessee (We have family there) and possibly D.C. (To see the white house.)
Fun fact about me: I’ve been to New York about a dozen times, but I’ve never gone to see the Statue of Liberty up close. Nor have I climbed the Empire State Building. I will be doing that for the first time this summer.
//Have a sleepover with cousins
By this, I mean in Georgia. There are going to be a ton of sleepovers with cousins in Florida and New York because a lot of family will be there. I’m talking about my cousins that live here. They are a bit younger than me. They are in middle school and 3-years-old. I can’t sleep over with them much during the year because of school. My brother, Zidan, does a lot. This is just something I want to do because usually when they slept over during the summer, I would have work or studying to do.
//Hang Out With A Friend Every Week
My high school was a charter school, so students that went there lived in different cities(My commute was 30 minutes each way). Because my friends and I don’t live as close to each other, we don’t see each other much during the summer. Before I didn’t drive, so I would rarely see them. Now that I can, I want to make spending time with my friends a priority. Especially now that we’ve graduated because we won’t be going to school together next year.
//Work and save money
I want to save a lot of money this summer for savings, emergency fund, and other personal goals in the long run. I’m a serial saver, so this should be easy.
//Disney Movie Marathon
My friend Kat is a TOTAL Disnerd. Most of my friends are, but she and her family take it to another level. They have annual passes and go to Disney World 3-5 times per year. They go to Disney Cruises and have Disney merchandise all over their house (I’m talking oven mitts, mail holders, board games…) Kat also has a little theater room in her basement full of Disney DVDs and Blu-rays. We keep saying that we should have a Disney movies marathon with all our friends, but we’ve never done it. I’m determined to do it this summer.
//Take A Lot Of Pictures and Actually Post Them
I’d do this anyway, but we are doing a lot of traveling this summer and will see a TON of family (53+ not including the family we’ll see at my cousin’s wedding). I know our family in Bangladesh and other states will want to see. I also just got my own DSLR!!! I’m so excited to take pictures with it. I can’t wait to see everyone and go to all the places we’re planning to go.
//Watch Finding Dory
So Finding Nemo came out when I started kindergarten and now Finding Dory is coming after I graduate high school. I know that Pixar planned it this way, the same way they did with Toy Story 3, where Andy goes to college at around the same time people his age during the first movie were going to college.
Random story: The first time we watched Finding Nemo, I was five. We were at the movie theater, and when the shark scene on the big screen scared me so much that I started crying. My parents had to take me out of the room. I’m pretty sure that won’t happen this time.
//Make Recipe Book With My Mom’s Recipes
I’ve actually been working on this for a while, but I want to take the recipes out of the composition notebook and type it out. I most likely won’t finish this summer. My goal is to finish by the time I move out, so that I will have a whole book of my mom’s family recipes. My mom is the best cook. Other people’s words. Not mine. I want a recipe book in the long-run so that I can cook Bengali food for my kids. By then, I will know the recipes on my own (I know some already), but having a reference would be nice. My mom has one, but it’s a really old notebook, with the pages torn out, written in Bangla. I would like to print one and laminate the covers and put a spiral in, like a real book. This probably won’t be finished this summer, but I want to get started.
Ramadan is also this summer, so I’ll help her cook anyway. Might as well kill two birds with one stone.
//Some Other Summer Bucket List Ideas For You
- Take a road trip with your best friends
- Spend the day at an amusement park
- Play a sport
- Have a picnic in the park
- Volunteer for or attend a summer camp
- Make Popsicles
- Visit a Museum (There are probably free ones near you)
- Beach Trip
- Family Barbecue
What’s on your summer bucket list? Do you have any other summer bucket list ideas?