I love experiences.
Since my senior year of high school, my life motto has been that of the lyrics from One Republic’s song “I Lived.”
“I owned every second that this world could give
I saw so many places, the things that I did
With every broken bone I swear I lived.”
That desire to fully experience the world around me came not a day too late, considering that we would soon be locked up due to a global pandemic two years later.
Growing up, I was extremely detail-oriented. I was a planner. The idea of being unprepared was my worst nightmare, since to me, the unknown could and would lead to disaster.
As my senior year of high school began, I realized how quickly my life was going by. In the middle of my last Homecoming week, it hit me - this is it. This is the last time I ever get to do this, to be in high school and experience a Homecoming parade, dress-up day, or dance. It’s all here, right in front of me. This is my life. And I need to truly live it instead of constantly looking to what happens next.
From then on, I challenged myself to soak up each day as it came instead of looking to the future. At first it was hard for me, but after a few weeks of practice, I began to fall in love with life again. I used to get anxiety as each day came to a close, worrying about what tomorrow would bring - but with a present-focused mindset, it vanished. I became more spontaneous, more adaptable, and more relaxed.
Fast forward two years - past a treasure trove of memories and some of the best times of my life - to March 2020. We all know what happened then.
One of the last experiences I got to “freely” have was with my sister. We were chatting while running errands, and got on the subject of ice cream. She mentioned that she had never had a banana split before. As an ice cream fiend, I could not permit this atrocity to go on any longer, so I turned the car toward our local small business ice cream parlor. We got the biggest banana split they had to offer. That evening, we enjoyed the sweetness of not only the ice cream, but the spontaneity of the occasion. It was one of those times that doesn’t sound super out of the ordinary, but feels magical from letting yourself experience the freedom of the moment.
The first few months of the pandemic, I looked back on that memory fondly. Although it was difficult (and a bit painful) to know we couldn’t leave the house to go exploring now, I was so thankful we had taken advantage of the opportunity when we had it.
I know that to some extent, many others feel the same way. When I scroll through TikTok, my For You page is full of restless teenagers reminiscing on their time of youth which has been taken away from them - with an angst to go and experience the world as fully as possible once things open back up again.
Retweet. I’m more than ready to get back out there as well.
So, why am I making this website?
I’m hoping that whoever finds their way to this website can accumulate a personal bucket list of things they want to experience once life returns to normal again. To plan during the time that we can’t go out and explore, so we don’t have to use the time we can explore for planning. This blog will focus on things to do throughout the St. Louis area - because I’ve called St. Louis home for my entire life.
To be completely transparent with you, this website/blog/campaign is for a school project. However, I want there to be no doubt in your mind that the passion and sentiments I expressed above are entirely heartfelt - and I promise to you that it will stay that way throughout the time I post on here.
“I owned every second that this world could give
I saw so many places, the things that I did
With every broken bone I swear I lived.”
Enjoy!
~Mary
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