What’s in Your Bucket?

Happy Thursday folks! Today is such a happy day 🙂 It’s my birthday eve (cough, cough) and it is also the eve of Dutchmen Day at LVC (my favorite time of year)! I am also looking forward to seeing my friends and going out to eat with my family this weekend. So, as you can already see, I AM SO HAPPY 🙂 🙂 [hopefully I am spreading some cheer to you!]

Anywho, I am one for making lists and crossing items off when I finish them. But as far as my bucket list goes, there are very few items that I can actually cross off. What is a bucket list you may ask? Well, according to Google it is “the number of experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime.”

Sooo, why should you make a bucket list? Don’t worry, I will tell you. You should create one so you can keep your life interesting and fun! Making a bucket list will give you something to look forward to. With the help of Kate Spade’s Places to Go, People to See book, I have created my very own!

1. Take a road trip without using a map. – I would love to come across quaint, cute towns across the U.S along the way to my destination.
2. Soak up the rays in Copacabana Beach, Rio. -Ever since the 2016 Rio Olympics, I want to soak up the sun on the same beach that Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross won a bronze medal.
3. Salute the guards at Buckingham Palace. -Maybe I can make a guard on duty laugh. Or better yet, maybe he will give me his big, furry hat to try on!
4. Eat Pizza in Rome. -When in Italy, there’s an unwritten rule that you need to eat pizza.
5. Watch a sunset in Santorini, Greece. -This idea came to mind when I saw an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians (don’t judge)!
6. Win a round of Texas Hold’em in Las Vegas. – I remember I beat my brother and his friends one time playing Texas Hold’em when I was younger, so why not take my talents to Las Vegas? (End Lebron James reference).
7. Instagram a photo of a celebrity in L.A. – Because, why not?
8. Wear a crazy hat to the Kentucky Derby. – It’s all about the big ‘ol fancy hat.
9. Go skydiving. – I am planning on crossing this one off this summer!
10. Swim with dolphins in the Bahamas. -Ever see Mary Kate and Ashley’s, Holiday in the Sun? Well, that is where this one came from. Cowabunga!
11. See the Full(er) House house in San Fran. -And the Golden Gate Bridge, and take a trolley ride, and see everything San Francisco has to offer.
12. Go to every professional baseball stadium. -I will forever be a Phillies fan, but it would be awesome to see each stadium!
13. Read a book in one day.– Any suggestions?
14. Earn my doctorate degree. -I want to walk across the stage as Dr. Alison Semanchik (but hopefully I will be married at that point 😉 )
15. Be a mom. – No explanation for this one!

I know that I will probably add or change some ideas to my bucket list, and that is OK. It’s your list, do whateva you want! But, I truly believe that if you create a list and you do what you can, and you cross things off, you are not going to regret anything in your life. You will have stories and memories that last a lifetime.

What is on your bucket list? Please let me know by leaving a comment below, or on my Facebook page. I look forward to seeing yours! 🙂

I hope you have a splendid weekend!

Chase your sunset,

Ali

Beach Boss

Heyya! I hope you had a great week thus far. As promised, I wanted to share with you how I spent the Summer of 2016. Last week, I “revealed” a photo to give you a hint. There was water in the background, I was holding a camera, and I was wearing a red T-shirt that says “Telescope Pictures.” Didya figure it out? YES! I worked in Ocean City, Maryland, working in Seacrets for Telescope Pictures. (By far the best experience of life)!

It was always a dream of mine to live and work at a beach for at least one summer. I felt that the best time to do this was the summer going into my senior year of college. So, I landed a job with Scopes, and was ready to start making memories (and money$$).

The beginning of the summer was such a unique experience. I went on this journey all on my own, and was living with six other random girls. I did not know what to expect, and was starting to miss home. But, as a couple of weeks went by, I was finally starting to catch some waves.

From my experience, I wanted to share with you:

5 Things I Learned Living On My Own For the First Time!

–Make a budget and buy items that are only a necessity. I realized that I spent so much money, or I should say, wasted money last summer. I ate out a lot (even though I had food at home), I ended up throwing groceries away because I let food go bad (because I ate out, lol), and I spent $50 on an Uber one night! (Crazy, I know, I still am salty about that). I worked hard and earned my money, and it urks me that I was not as responsible as I should have been. But, you live and you learn 🙂 If you are in this situation, write down what you make and then write down what you spend, this way you will see where you are spending your money, and which ways you can cut back!

–Even though you do not feeling like going out, go out. When your friends say, “Let’s go out for a bit after work!” And then you say, “No, I am exhausted. I am just going to watch Netflix and call it an early one.” NO, NO, NO, NO! The best memories come from being spontaneous, and with those memories, I can reminisce for-everrrr with mi amigas.

–Living on your own means that you actually have to talk to people. For me, it is not hard to start a conversation with someone. But, this was a great opportunity for me to meet people from all over the East Coast. By doing this, I was able to network and make new connections. I was even able to retrieve numbers from administrators from New York and Maryland. You never know when you might need him/her to help you with a job. 🙂

–You will meet some of your best friends, that will actually stick with you for life. I will be honest, if I was in high school, I really do not think that I would have been best friends with my chicas that I met. I say this because we would have been in different cliques (so sad, but true). These girls are so driven, funny, and down to earth. Best yet, they fuel my fire. I think that you should surround yourself with people who do that for you. Make sure that you are around people who bring you up, rather than bring you down.

 

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–Take the risk. This was the best decision I could have ever possibly made. It was scary and nerve-racking at first, but once I settled in, I really felt like I was at home. I made so many memories, and made friends that will last forever. Plus, the beach was my backyard, how could I ever complain?

I enjoyed last summer so much, and because of that, I am heading back down for the summer of 2017! If you think that you would want to work for Telescope Pictures, you can fill out an application at http://www.mytelescopepictures.com/.

I cannot wait to check in with you next Thursday!

And do not forget, chase your sunset,

Ali