Everyone has heard of the typical summer bucket list, filled with things like getting tan or going to a party with friends. You may have also heard of a person’s bucket list of things they want to accomplish before they die. Major milestones, such as  high school graduation or the end of a summer break, are often accompanied by a bucket list of to-dos and experiences that are each considered rites of passage for the people listing their ideas. The term bucket list unofficially dates back to 2004, the year in which it is estimated that the paired words were used for the first time. The first use was in a book titled Unfair & Unbalanced: The Lunatic Magniloquence of Henry E. Panky, where the sentence to first make use of the term originated. The sixteen year-old term maintains the same meaning today, as it signifies a somewhat defiant, yet fun frame of mind aimed at accomplishing the items on the list you make. 

  High schoolers often make bucket lists as a way of commemorating big moments and turning points in their lives. These young students may also make them as a way of directing their life towards some sort of goal. Things that may be featured on an end of high school bucket list are to get an A in a class, pull an all-nighter, or take a road trip with friends. Whether someone is highlighting their end of year goals or their end of life desires, bucket lists are a way of keeping track of all the fun things that one may wish to do or experience. In the eyes of sophomore Mason Meador, the importance of making a bucket list is all about “doing things that are important to you.” Similarly, sophomore Jason Jones says that “the importance of making a bucket list is so that you can live your life without regrets.” Both of these young students capture the idea perfectly of all that a bucket list was ever meant to symbolize. In fact, ever since the term originated, it has continued to have been used in several infamous ways, all of which carry the same meaning that it did at first use. 

  One way that Millbrook students may recognize the term is from the movie The Bucket List, starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. In this movie, two older men who are terminally ill escape from their cancer ward and depart on a road trip with a list of to-dos that they want to accomplish before they die. While “Before I die…” bucket lists are made by elder people frequently, the most relevant type of list for Millbrook high schoolers is the “Before I graduate…” list. So, what might be included on this list? Whether someone has their sights set on an athletic scholarship, an Ivy League school, or a fun four years with friends, there is always something that can be put on a bucket list to celebrate and remember some of the greatest years of a person’s life in high school.