My Not Basic Fall Bucket List

There’s a time and place for everything – and it all happens in the fall. From taking candid photos in a pumpkin patch to wearing endless sweater dresses, this season is a favorite for anyone who has a soul – or enjoys apple-scented candles (so everyone?).

In order to celebrate the start of cooler weather and darker lipstick, I’ve come up with a not basic bucket list. Regardless of the title, don’t get me wrong – I’m all about using October as an excuse to tweet my appreciation for scorpios and I’ll hold a pumpkin spice latte while doing it. Read further to see what I’ll be up to this season.

1. Attend a concert

I don’t care how many times I’ve actually seen Cash Cash in concert – it literally feels like the first time (every time). Maybe it’s the fact that the lyrics to Lightning make me tear up or that they actually used to be a pop punk band, but here I am in the crowd and wondering when the confetti will fall around me. Luckily, they’re coming to Houston in October – so you know where to find me.

The people who say you can’t buy happiness have probably never seen their favorite artist in person.

Aside from my random obsession with Cash Cash, I also bought tickets to see Halsey – a year in advance. I don’t regret much in life, but if I did, it would be the fact that I once saw her open for The Weekend and had no idea who she was. Fast forward 3 years and she’s now my favorite artist – listen to Colors or Is there Somewhere and tell me if you think the same.

2. Learn a new skill

As you (hopefully) already know, I’m still chasing my dream of being in a creative field with an emphasis on editorial. And with that being said, I have a list of skills and systems that I want to learn in order increase my competitiveness for this career path.

My dreams aren’t done with me yet and I’m not stopping until I know I did everything I could in order to reach them.

Sometimes I look back on where I was a few months ago and it blows my mind – you truly don’t know what you’re capable of until you let go of what your expectation of that is. I’ll probably write a post about this journey in the future, but until then, my only update is that I’m still here and I’m still fighting.

3. Read at least 1 book/month

The most ironic part of this goal is that I write daily – yet fall under the category of people who deem that they don’t have enough time to read. Obviously, I recognize this is an excuse and I’m not allowing it to be an acceptable one anymore.

In the end, people only make time when they care enough to.

Aside from the clear reasons of wanting to expand my vocabulary and engage my mind, I miss the feeling of opening books and getting lost in them. The majority of my childhood was spent reading the Sweet Valley series during the winter and the Harry Potter series during the summer – so revisiting the nostalgia of my childhood is also something else I’m looking forward to this fall.

4. Make a Halloween costume

Look – you’re only as crafty as your ability to use a glue gun. Call me a sorority girl (I was and I can sand and paint a cooler if I want to) or dramatic, but this is a real concept.

Not everything in life needs to be taken seriously, but your costume better be one of them.

Even though I’m keeping my Halloween costume a secret this year, I’m really excited to see what the end result will look like. Sure, I might not know my plans for Halloween, but I know what my outfit is going to be and that’s really all that matters.

5. Unplug before bed

If I say I’m going to bed, I actually mean I’m going to lay in bed and watch every Facebook video on dogs as possible. Once I’m done with that, I’ll probably refresh my Instagram feed until I realize I’m 27 weeks into someone else’s page and then fall asleep to The Office – no shame.

I don’t have insomnia, I have internet.

There are numerous articles online that state how quickly people fall asleep when their phones are across the room – and I don’t have to read any of them to believe it. I have an awful habit of either falling asleep at 10 pm or 3 am and it’s about time that I attempt to fix it by shutting off my phone and turning off my mind.

6. Volunteer at an animal shelter

Due to the animals who were left during Hurricane Harvey and my recent visit to a local animal shelter, witnessing scared and homeless animals was something I never truly faced – until now. All I thought about when I saw their living conditions and heard the high turnover rate was how much more these animals deserved.

Animals are considered family and that’s exactly how they should be treated.

These creatures have souls – they have a sense of loyalty that many of us can’t comprehend and a personality that makes us love them unconditionally. It breaks my heart to even consider my own dog living in a shelter, so I’m not about to sit here and feel bad for them when I can physically be there and make their experience even a little better.

7. Talk to my parents more

As we grow older, our parents become humans instead of heroes. They’re not just the people who can find anything you lose but the people who are giving you advice when you’re actually completely lost yourself. The transition from depending on them to truly getting to know them is one we should all experience.

If you don’t do it for yourself, do it for your parents.

Although I’m fairly close to my parents, I still want to know details of their lives that they didn’t want to tell me when I was a child. My parents are 2 of my favorite people in the world and all I wish is continue to learn about them to the point where I understand why I love them so much.

8. Stay inspired

For the sake of my own sanity, I put this on the list. Throughout these few months, I’ve learned a lot about the creativity industry. And the most important lesson?

It’s not always how to inspire people, but how to handle it when you don’t feel inspired yourself.

I’ll never forget my first experience of writer’s block – it stressed me out to the point where I was convinced that the world was ending and that it was in the form of the blank laptop screen in front of me. Yet as I got over this seemingly devastating moment of my life (at the time), I realized the methods I used to relax and find inspiration were probably actions I should’ve been doing the entire time.

So here’s my reminder to myself for the next time I feel stuck – order a vanilla latte, watch a movie, and embrace the moment because your next favorite piece of work is coming.

Photo Credit: Blush Creative Studio