We all have things we wish to do before we die, but do we ever make a list? To me, it feels like playing a game with quests. It gives the game purpose and makes you keep going. They can be doable or just a demonstration of your capacity for imagination within reality. I’ve created the list years ago (and I still add to it), and luckily, I achieved two of the items. Most of them are things that might be easily done by most of you, but the difference in circumstances makes them difficult to do/undoable for me.
• Go to Canada. Canada is a definite travel destination for me, but my family won’t allow me to travel there for no valid reason. That’s why it’s where I’ve decided to do my master’s degree and, hopefully, achieve my dream of becoming a book editor by eventually immigrating there (sorry, mom).
• See real penguins. Penguins are my favorite animals. They’re so adorable, and they have amazing family bonds. Most of them are monogamous, and the parents take turns incubating the eggs. One would leave to feed for several days while the other is incubating and protecting the eggs. Also, when the eggs hatch, the parents of some chicks would die while feeding (by being eaten by predators, for example) and they would become orphans. The mothers whose chicks had died would fight to adopt the orphaned chicks, while some human mothers throw their children in dumpsters. I think penguins have important lessons to teach humans. (And, yeah, that was one of my favorite episodes of Planet Earth!) Anyway, what I wanted to say is that I did achieve that goal when I visited Edinburgh Zoo last year. However, I couldn’t achieve the next one
• Take a selfie with a penguin, because we weren’t allowed inside the enclosure, of course. It is doable, though. I can go to Ski Dubai and do just that. That’s the only reason I can’t wait to visit Dubai! And in case you were wondering, penguins stink. Yeah, even penguins have flaws.
• Ride a bike as an adult. I did achieve this goal as well, humiliatingly, but I did it anyway. I’ll tell the story about this one in another post.
• Rollerskate. It would be very hard to find an enclosed large area where I can rollerskate here in Bahrain (because, naturally, I wouldn’t be able to rollerskate wearing an abaya, you know). I once saw a girl rollerskating in the park. I was so jealous, I almost cried. I had to leave the park.
• Buy a fine miniature house. I’m crazy about miniatures, to the point that I realized I love babies because they’re miniature humans. I’m waiting until I have my own place to buy one, preferably one made by Mulvany and Rogers. I know they’re expensive, but that gives me another item to add to the list: Become so rich you can afford a Mulvany and Rogers miniature house.
• Drive on a long road with no other cars and with beautiful scenery and no fear of anything making me brake suddenly (like a deer). A road like this in Bahrain is nearly impossible to find, at least one with access to the public.
• Run on a field of daisies. I don’t like flowers, but I love daisies. For me, they’re the symbol of ultimate peace and beauty in nature. Until I get stung by a bee.
• Pet a Pomeranian. The Pomeranian is my favorite dog breed. Very few people in Bahrain have dogs as pets, let alone Pomeranians. I’ll talk about my attempt to achieve this goal in another post as well.
• Ride a flying helicopter, because I’ve already ridden a parked one. Helicopters are different from planes, because they have larger windows that you can actually see through, and you can enjoy a true flying experience because you can feel the helicopter moving. In helicopters you can come close to objects during the flight if you want a closer look, and of course it doesn’t need the space of 20 football fields to land; it can land anywhere.
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