Rap God (and other things on the bucket list)

As I write this post, I am on the cusp of turning 20 years old. I'm not gonna lie, that big, official number instills in me some kind of urgency. After all, I had a rather docile teenagerdom-- I never rebelled against my parents, dyed my hair a crazy color, or even skipped school. For the most part of my life, I have been a gentle, deferential, law-abiding citizen (I say "most" because, indeed, I have jaywalked before, as well as downloaded several Owl City mp3s in 2010 without paying for them). As someone who now intends to pursue a career in the law, it brings me great shame to reveal such violations, but I trust that none of you will report me.

Anyway, besides those infractions, it would seem to most that I have lived an extremely quiet life, especially having gone through the years that are often considered the most tumultuous for a young person. However, fear not. I have a whole list of exciting, crazy, wild things I'm going to do in my 20s to make up for it. The list is quite extensive, but I thought to share a few of them here. After all, it's important to write your goals down so you don't forget them. 

1) Become a rap god

I've always strived to reach new heights in my musical career: for example, learning to play the drums, expanding from acoustic to electric guitar, or being able to sing like Beyonce. Whether or not I meet those endeavors with success is more variable (I still cannot do any of these things). However, one thing I refuse to compromise is my goal to one day be able to rap.

And I don't want to be a casual, basic rap vassal either. No, I want to be a rap god. I want to be so good at rapping that I can write it on my resume. I want to be able to rap the entirety of Chris Brown - Look At Me Now ft. Lil' Wayne, Busta Rhymes without a single stutter or pause. 

In fact, I've begun to work on that song already. Beyond getting a grasp of the basic rhythm of the song, my next goal is to figure out what exactly they're talking about.

2) Be able to eat a whole spoonful of wasabi with ease

The point of this bucket list item is to show the extent of my physical endurance. After all, I'm not very athletic. I don't look that threatening. Something like spice tolerance is one of the only means I have to demonstrate my power.

Fortunately, I've discovered since coming to college that spice tolerance is not something you're born with-- it's something you can train. This is both encouraging and worrisome. While it puts my tolerance into my own hands, it also puts it at constant risk of deteriorating, especially since I no longer have regular access to my mom's peppersome cooking. Thus, in order to combat this, I've begun adding spicy seasonings to my food whenever possible, as well as squirting sriracha into my noodle soups until the broth turns scarlet. I believe that with just a few more years of training, a simple spoonful of wasabi will be no problem.

3) Win a Pulitzer Prize for the Snoozy Cat

This one is rather obvious. I write this blog for no other purpose. I firmly believe that The Snoozy Cat is the pinnacle of nonfiction writing and will continue to assert as such until it is given the recognition it deserves.

And that's all for now, I think. After all, I don't want to share all of the secret plans I have on my agenda-- that would ruin the element of surprise. Indeed, the best part about getting something off your bucket list is that the moment you reveal your accomplishment is completely up to you (for example, I would love to reveal my rap god status at my wedding). Keeping that in mind, I'm going to stop the list here. But let's just say that if one day, you see me spitting bars during my Pulitzer acceptance speech about my wasabi-eating ability, you heard it here first. 

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(On a less whimsical note: I was reading a couple of old journals the other day where I had made smaller bucket lists. To my amazement, a lot of the goals I had set for myself years ago (which had seemed so lofty at the time) were already realized in my life! Seeing that gave me a sense of contentedness and peace. I thought it'd be nice to continue to feel that way.

So here are a few words written in the present that will come to represent the past, a picture of who I want to be that will hopefully become who I am. Thanks as always for reading, and to new opportunities and crossing things off the list for all of us!

In case anyone was wondering, here are some things that are actually on my bucket list right now: writing a book, winning a case for someone in court who deserves it, and becoming quadrilingual.)