At the beginning of the summer, I made a bucket list of everything I planned on doing before going back to school. I knew it would be a bit of a reach to do everything in just a few months, but I did as much of it as I could, and it was probably the best summer I’ve ever had. I had so many incredible opportunities, met some pretty amazing people, and finally figured out how to be happy with myself. I wrote about ten of my favorite experiences from my bucket list, and looking back on these memories makes me happy that I spent my summer the way I did.

1. Write 500 words every day. I did this by writing lots of letters I’ll never send. It was surprisingly easy, and I was letting out a lot of feelings I didn’t even know I had.
2. Go hiking with your best friend. I went hiking with two of my best friends every week for the entire summer, and even though we’ve known each other our entire lives, I bonded more with them this summer than I ever have.

3. Learn a new language. My little brother is teaching me sign language, and it’s probably the most interesting thing either of us have experienced.

4. A spontaneous road trip with your best friend. We took off on an “absolutely no planning” road trip and knocked out our beach day all in one.

5. Go a day without your phone and a week without social media. Someone told me there was “no way” I could do it, so, naturally, I did- and it was amazing. It’s incredible how so many of the things you worry about in a day involve your phone, and it felt good to step away from it.

6. Love yourself and don’t depend on others for happiness. The me that wrote this bucket list would be proud of me right now- the one that stopped letting people walk all over her and finally figured out what’s good for her.

7. Eat soft serve ice cream as much as possible. Easiest thing I’ve ever done.

8. Get dressed up and do a photo shoot with your best friends. Recreating old pictures was probably a highlight of my summer.

9. Do something that scares you. The hardest and scariest thing I did this summer was doing whatever was best for me instead of worrying about other people. Moving on and letting go is terrifying, especially when you have no idea what’s coming next. But putting your foot down and recognizing that you are the most important thing is the first step, and everything after that comes easily.

10. Learn something new about yourself. Completing this bucket list helped me learn that I’m stronger and more driven than I ever thought I was. (I also learned that I love doing things that boys told me I would never be able to do.)

This bucket list was an important part of my summer, because I proved to myself and others that I’m capable of pushing and surprising myself. I did a lot of things that people said I wouldn’t, and that’s a pretty great feeling.

This is for the person that bailed on knocking out this bucket list with me- I did it all by myself, and I killed it.