things to do before you die

First of all—what a fun book! This has to be the best Living To Do book (and I’ve bought or read quite a few) I’ve ever come across. Written by three sisters, You Can Do It! The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls is a jumbo book filled with things to do—the cover page declares, “Dare to Dream, Learn Something New, Do Something Just for You!” And it’s not like any other Bucket List book you’ve ever read.

For one thing, it’s written by a woman who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The book was Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas’ dream, a dream her sisters—Vaughn Catuzzi Lohec and Dara Catuzzi Near—shared and supported. With its heartfelt introduction and explanation about Lauren’s wish, the nonprofits that were set up in her honor, and simply getting the most out of life, it would be hard not to jump right into the book with both feet—talk about inspiring. Read more

Learning something new can—and should, I say!—be a high priority on many people’s Living To-Do Lists. But it has to be realistic. I was talking with a friend the other day about her list of 100 in 1,000, and she was lamenting about how she had a goal to do a daily practice—learn something new each day through a specific means—in mind that she had yet to start, and she was upset because the goal was to do it every single day.

Now, my friend is a resilient, smart girl who is involved in activism, school, a job and freelance writing. I know for a fact that she’s very busy, as well as ambitious; such a goal would not only be hard to accomplish but also dampen her spirits. Read more

Living “the life of luxury” isn’t just hard to do for most people these days—it’s also unsustainable. Personal jets, million-dollar mansions and Vegas vacations are all costly on both the pocketbook as well as the environment. Not living such a life, whether you can afford to or not, is probably one of the best things you can do to help the planet.

That said, if you want to live like a millionaire and have it listed in your Living To-Do, you can still live like the rich and famous without the huge expense and environmental footprint. Even if only for a day—or even a few hours!—you can live your own life of luxury. Try some of the following ideas. Read more

A lot of people have “Swimming with Dophins” on their Living To-Do Lists, and I don’t blame them; dolphins are gorgeous, intelligent creatures that seem to like to have fun on their own. (How many other animals are famous for using orgies to bond?)

Having visited Sea World, I had the chance to pet a dolphin, and I felt more pity than awe. There were just droves and droves of people surrounding this aquarium, which made the dolphins seem more like they were trapped in cages than anything else. And perhaps they were.

So that killed my dream of swimming with dolphins right there—but that doesn’t mean that it should necessarily kill anyone else’s. I’m sure there are plenty of establishments where dolphins are given more room to breathe—and to swim. Read more