60 things to do before I die

I’m writing a list of sixty things to do before I die with Denada. I’m inspired by the show on TV: The Buried Life. Check out some episodes!

1. Visit all 50 states in the United States of America

2. Visit at least 50 countries

3. Learn a new language and visit that country it is from

4. Go hang gliding

5. Go skydiving

6. Visit Texas to know what it feels like without gravity

7. Swim in the Great Barrier Reef

8. Visit every continent

9. Go snowboarding in Russia

10. Climb King Tutankhamen’s pyramid in Egypt

11. Become a pilot

12. Steer a cruise ship

13. Touch the bottom of the Pacific Ocean

14. Visit the Titanic remains

15. Stand under a waterfall

16. Climb the Eiffel Tower

17. Visit the 7 Wonders of the World

18. Visit the Bermuda Triangle

19. Visit every famous monument

20. Buy a home in every continent

21. Meet the President of the United States

22. Meet the Pope

23. Shop in the Mall of America

24. Live in MacDonald’s for a week

25. Be in a Hollywood movie

26. Meet my Idol

27. Sing on American Idol

28. Perform on a game show such as Family Feud

29. Act on America’s Got Talent

30. Tell a hobo your story of your life

31. Fly around the entire world

32. Ride a camel in Egypt

33. Ride the Trans-Siberian Express across Asia

34. Visit Congress to see how it works

35. Write a novel

36. Through a message in a bottle into the ocean

37. Play every type of instrument (wood, string, etc.)

38. Teach someone a new language

39. Teach someone to read

40. Spend a night in a real haunted house in New Orleans

41. See a lunar eclipse

42. Ride the tallest rollercoaster ( and I’m afraid of heights)

43. Learn to juggle (three balls not two like I do)

44. Walk through the Grand Canyon

45. Donate a lot of money to a charity

46. Ride a hot air balloon

47. Find an artifact or fossil

48. Go surfing in California

49. Swim with a shark

50. Walk on a glacier

51. Spend a day in the Amazon Jungle

52. Watch the Olympics (not on TV, in person)

53. Meet the world’s oldest person

54. Try an exotic food

55. Make up a new word and try to get it in the dictionary

56. Save someone’s life

57. Walk through the Sahara Desert

58. Solve a murder mystery

59. Break a world record and be in the Guinness Book of World Records

60. And finally, walk along the Great Wall of China

Major Scare

Something so simple can become a maze instantly. I never thought that this would be an adventure. I learned how to do this at a very young age yet I struggled every time on these.

St. Michaels Catholic School in Livonia has a very large gymnasium. But what are larger are the bleachers. They are no ordinary bleachers, I considered them extreme. They were around five times taller than normal steps on bleachers. I was only a short seven-year-old so the steps were a mountain to me. Not only were the steps too high but there was an inch and a half ledge that popped up above the rest of the step. These bleachers were very difficult to climb up especially since I was running.

I was at a nighttime band concert that my brother was playing in. I was coloring in very detailed coloring books. To color these perfectly was impossible. I tried and tried but I would always accidentally color outside these precise portraits. Finally, I colored the best one. It was perfect so I wanted to show my parents while they listened to my brother his music.

I tried to go down the mountainous stairs toward my parents but I tripped and almost dove down the giant maze. Luckily I saved myself or one of my fears would have taken place: diving face-first down a huge flight of stairs. That trip was like a major warning that I should have been aware of, but I was too distracted by my drawing.

I climbed back up the dangerous steps to color in another picture. The one I picked was even more complicated and I really liked the colors I used. I marched down the tremendous bleachers carelessly. I wanted to show my mom this picture but I didn’t quite make it to her.

As I raced down these stairs, I felt as if I was in an obstacle course. I had to dodge items I could slip on and had to jump over gaps. I was doing well in the “course” until, just for a second, I looked at the band and forgot what I was doing. Suddenly all I knew was that I was tumbling down the flight of stairs. Then I realized what had happened. I stepped right in front of the high edge and half of my shoe was caught in the ledge. My fear was accomplished since I dove down the entire set of stairs.

My dad ran after me and we were both surprised that I didn’t get a concussion. Finally I exited the gymnasium so that I wouldn’t take the attention away from the band (which I already did so it was useless). I had blood dripping from my face but in the end it all left a tiny scar. I was lucky that night and will be more aware next time.

Obama Metting the Dalai Lama

President Obama should not keep his plans to meet with the Dalai Lama.

Does meeting the Dalai Lama benefit the U.S. in any way? No, the meeting will only increase the tension even more between China and the U.S. According to the New York Times, Zhu Weigun (a senior Chinese official) said “Any move by American leaders to meet the Dalai Lama will harm others but bring no profit to itself.” The U.S. will not receive money or goods if President Obama meets the Dalai Lama. The outcome would be negative towards the U.S. such as China setting up sanctions against the U.S. like they would have with France. Afterwards, the U.S. would have regretted the meeting since China will have consequences for the U.S.

China won’t change their decision about Tibet having its own government if the U.S. gets involved. Just because the U.S. president may meet the Dalai Lama doesn’t mean that China will listen to the U.S. and let Tibet be self-governing. Imagine that you are on a hockey team and a few players have a good play that is different from the coach. Their coach wants to use his play and he won’t change his mind. One of the players’ parent agrees with their child’s plan but the coach still won’t use their idea and he uses his play. The U.S. is the parent and China is the coach. Even though the players (Tibet) have a different idea than the coach, he is in charge and he doesn’t care about the parent’s input. China is in control here and their way goes.