Bucket List Erica Zofcin

Ever since I could hold a pencil, I have made it my mission to put it to paper. Growing up, I drew and wrote practically nonstop, filling notebook after notebook with all manner of characters and creatures, dotting assignments with haphazard doodles, and scribbling barely coherent notes on the backs of printer paper. 

I enjoyed learning. I enjoyed science and history and math (sometimes, anyway). I enjoyed reading, and writing, and many times I felt as if I was the only one who did (in a sea of students complaining about essays and English homework). 

As I got older, I put my creativity to use: I wrote award winning poetry, had my art published in books, and won awards for acting and design. I even won first in state for my set design in UIL Theatrical Design last year. The feeling of accomplishment and pride is one that I will never forget. 

I have always wanted to create. It is a passion that has shaped every decision I have ever made. Now I even get paid for it (only occasionally; I have to eat somehow), but I still create purely for fun as well. I’m currently writing a book, which I hope to eventually publish. 

My goal, not only as a writer and an artist, but also as a person, is to make a mark. I want to do something valuable with my time, my talent, and with my skills that I have worked hard to hone. I would like to do at least one great thing, something that has a lasting impact on the world. My hope is that college will help me do that, which is why I’m here.

Bucket List Carter Wall

 

The main goal on my bucket list is to attend and attempt to understand all 9th (and part of the 10th, as I believe it is unfinished) of Gustav Mahler's symphonic works. So far, I have seen his 7th symphony in Fort Worth, and his 5th symphony, which I believe is his greatest, in Dallas. In March 2025, I am going back to DFW to attend the 9th. For a young and aspiring musician, I believe his work is the best thing humanity could've possibly come up with, and I believe attending these concerts will greatly benefit my understanding of music in general, how it is created, how to create it, and how to perform it the way Mahler intended in the future. 

 

      The proper way of performing Mahler leads me to my next goal, which is to be able to perform at least one of his works in a concert, a professional setting, whether it be in a symphony orchestra in the US, or abroad. For me, this will be the most difficult objective on my bucket list, if not the most difficult achievement for me in life. As a horn player, the market for my area of expertise is limited to the extremely talented and is oversaturated. Both will keep on getting smaller as classical music continues its declining demand. 

 

      My final objective unsurprisingly involves music, as I also want to make it possible for me to become a successful piano player, and whether it be in a jazz or classical setting, play in a professional ensemble. 

 

      My love for Mahler's work fuels my drive to become extremely good in both french horn and piano, so I can achieve everything I want from life. 

Bucket List Simea' Newton

In the future I plan to be a physician's assistant but there are many goals I wish to achieve in the meantime. 

 

I would like to hike to the top of a mountain, preferably a mountain that has little threat of death, injury, or trauma. 

 

I want to successfully nurture a plant to adulthood. This is very big because I struggle to keep plants of any variety alive longer than a few weeks. 

 

I want to see a shooting star and the Northern Lights occur at the same time. I can hardly imagine how beautiful that rare sight would be. 

 

I would also like to travel as far north as legally possible. How cool would it be to walk around and explore the white vastness that is the Arctic?

 

I want to travel overseas to New Zealand and learn about the Māori people. This means I would also have to face my fear of large bodies of water which is also on my bucket list. 

 

I want to become fluent in a popular language such as Spanish or Korean. Having both of these languages under my belt would not only be really cool, but it would be advantageous in my career field to be able to communicate with people outside my culture. 

 

I want to have my own moment in pop culture and become a microcelebrity that people randomly think about from time to time. It doesn’t have to be anything super impactful, but I really want to have a little sample of fame. I would like to meet Beyoncé before she officially retires from the music industry completely. I’ve loved her since I was a small child sitting in the back seat of my mother’s car screaming along to her songs at the top of my lungs and meeting her would literally change the trajectory of my life. 

 

I want to sing for an audience and receive a standing ovation. Singing is a big passion of mine and being shown appreciation for my voice would be so amazing. 

 

Hopefully, I can achieve it all before I kick the bucket.

Bucket List Kale Rehm

In 2024 I hope to improve on my habits that I struggled with in high school. Whether that be procrastination, lack of discipline, or just the willpower to make myself do an assignment. 

I hope to finish this first semester of my college career with A’s in every class. While I do intend on focusing on school work I'd also like to develop bonds with new people and pursue new opportunities. 

I want to set a strict diet and stick to it. Along with this diet I'd like to continue working with my personal trainer. 

All in all I just want to have a positive, successful first year in a new environment. I want to lay the foundation for my future school years to come.

Bucket List Savannah Sivils

I don’t think I have ever sat down and made a list of things I want to do in the future as I never thought I would make it to the future. I don’t know what I thought was going to happen, maybe I had secret knowledge about a zombie apocalypse that I wouldn’t survive, but I never made any decisions for future me. Now I am pretty set on having a future and am excited to have goals and a plan for what I want to do with my life. 

My first item on my bucket list is to travel outside of the country, preferably Italy, but honestly wherever is cheapest. I haven’t been to a lot of places in my life and never outside of the U.S, so getting to see more of the world would be amazing. I love learning about different people and cultures, and getting to see and learn in person would be phenomenal. 

The next item on my bucket list is to successfully make a project to improve my community. I say successfully because I have planned projects before to help out, but they never went anywhere. I believe if I can just get more experience I will actually make a successful project. 

In the same vein, I really want to finish a larger scale creative project, such as a short film, book, or comic book. Again, I have started creating lot of things, but just never finished them. I would like to have finished something big and creative. I probably wouldn’t even share it anywhere, just finish it to prove to myself that I can and that I can follow through on plans I have made. 

Another thing on my bucket list that is significantly lamer is to go to a fancy restaurant, I just want to see how much better the food would be.  

Bucket List Nicholas Martinez

I have put some thought into a bucket list since one of my friends recommended that I make one. I love the idea of a bucket list since it's a good way to really think about your aspirations and goals, and one of the main things I want to achieve in life is to be worry free. 

There is always something happening in my life and I am always dreaming of coming back to a more relaxed time like when I was younger. Back then, I had fewer responsibilities and no heavy expectations. Now, I will be working the hardest I can to achieve my other dream: being a well respected actor and performer. Pursuing college is helping me work my way to cross this part of my bucket list off by bettering my skills and abilities. I also hope that this preparation of work will help me achieve my first goal sooner rather than later near the end of my life. 

Another goal of mine is to find someone I can spend the rest of my life with. I want to be able to share our experiences and knowledge and always have the reassurance that I always have someone that cares for me and vice versa. I love people and it's so nice to be able to really know and be with someone and it takes a lot of worries away for me. I know it's a lot of work and I will have to put a lot of effort into this too but I believe all three of these goals are all worth it to make my life the best experience for me.

Bucket List Cynthia Lopez

Since I was in middle school, I never truly had the idea of making it to my 18th birthday or college. As the years went by, not once did I ever think about making it to college. I found tennis and started playing when I started high school, I did play on and off as I did struggle with a weak mentality and couldn’t handle the pressure sometimes. 

When I got to my senior year, we had the opportunity to watch live professional tennis matches at a country club in Houston. When we got there my favorite tennis player, Ben Shelton, was already playing and I was amazed on how tall he was, his ability to keep up with his opponent, and how skilled of a player he was. When he was done playing, he and his opponent had to walk back to his building to rest. The crowd and I were waiting outside trying to take pictures and autographs. I managed to get a picture with him and it is in my room, framed. After that day of watching live tennis matches, I told myself that I wanted to keep doing that. 

I plan to travel abroad sometime during the summer 2026 when they begin hosting the ATP tours, but I will at least ONE time be able to attend any US Open matches. I plan on playing tennis and to play in UTR tournaments when I go back home during the winter. Since seeing those live tennis matches, I want to continue playing and enjoy the game. After seeing players interviewed and how they talk about the feeling of playing the game, I want to be able to also experience that.