By: Kelsey Pinault (University of Miami)
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Here it is…your very own checklist of 21 things you should definitely try before turning 21! How many can you check off so far?
1. Go skydiving. Let’s face it, as you get older, your fearlessness begins to dwindle down, so take the leap while you still have the cajones.
2. Ride a mechanical bull. Signing a waver stating any possibly injuries are your responsibility didn’t stop me.
3. Work as a server at a restaurant. I promise after you spend so much as one night in this demanding occupation, you won’t have the audacity to treat even the worst waiter with nothing but respect.
4. Get invited to a fraternity/sorority formal. Prom was the most anticipated part of high school, this is your chance to relive that giddiness.
5. Have your fortune told. Madam Chelo may have the key to your future, but most likely it’ll just be a great story to tell.
6. See the snow. If you live in a place you’d like to compare to Alaska at times, see the beach.
7. Go to a concert. No one blames you for your less-than-tasteful taste in music when you were in middle school. Now is your chance to forget the Backstreet Boys and see a real band in concert, like Kings of Leon.
8. Learn a language. Okay, so if you haven’t started by now it might take you longer than the few months you have left until 21, but that shouldn’t stop you.
9. Take a roadtrip. We all have at least a few high school friends who go to universities in other cities and even states; make a weekend out of it.
10. Bring back a passion you had in your childhood. I used to love art. Maybe I’ll never be the next Picasso, but starting to paint again made me realize how much I missed it.
11. Go to at least one of every type of sporting event at your university. Even if the women’s basketball team is everyone’s least favorite, you’ll always be able to say you went to a game.
12. Fall in love. Too many college students these days are concerned with adding notches to their belts and saving love for their 30’s. I didn’t say you had to stay in love.
13. Get a tattoo. It’s all the rage. If you can’t handle the forever mark on your skin, get a henna.
14. Make a school day a personal day. Especially if you’re one of those people who feels the need to never miss a class, take a random day and skip all of them. Make it a day to do whatever you want.
15. Play ring of fire, kings, thumper, etc. Drinking games begin to lose their spark after they’re legal.
16. Hold a position. The feeling of authority and power is one that can help you grow as a person immensely.
17. Learn to drive stick shift. You may think manual cars are only found in the toy boxes of car-obsessed boys in this day and age, but you never know when this skill can come in handy.
18. Get a job. You’re going to need it for those future bar tabs.
19. Win an award. It doesn’t matter for what; just know that you are great.
20. Move out. Out of your parent’s house, or out of your dorm. There’s nothing like actually feeling like an adult when you’re 21.
21. Be Happy. Something to carry on well past the age of 21. Have that one thing to think about so whenever you’re having a bad day, you remember to smile.
