Finishing My Summer Bucket List
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Posted by: Hopkins Insider | 
August 12 2010 | 
Comments (1)
Name: Devin Alessio
Year: Class of 2014
Hometown: Manalapan, NJ
Intended Programs of Study: Writing Seminars and Romance Languages
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I’m in love with the concept of bucket lists. My friend Megan introduced me to the concept when she made a bucket list for the trip to Disney World that we took, along with our three other best friends, in lieu of throwing separate graduation parties. Our Disney Bucket List looked something like this:
- Ride Space Mountain with our eyes closed.
- Speak Italian to the people in the Italy pavilion in the World Showcase at Epcot. (What can I say? I’m planning on double majoring in Romance Languages and Writing Seminars.)
- Lead a parade.
- Eat Mickey Ice Cream Bars.
We had 146 things on our bucket list, and accomplished all but four! (And I actually did all of the things I listed.) Soon, I was making senior year bucket lists, vacation bucket lists, senior week bucket lists…I’ve become an addict.
The bucket list is a completely separate entity than its cousin, the to-do list. A to-do list is mundane, a list of things you need to do. The bucket lit, in all of its glory, is a list of things you aspire to accomplish within a fixed period of time because doing those things will make you a happier person. In celebration of my final summer before attending the glorious Johns Hopkins University, I have developed the following Summer 2010 Bucket List.
- Attend a Live Taping of the Maury Show I’ve always admired Maury Povich for his ability to mediate midget love triangles/baby daddy disputes/ chicken tetrazzini debacles with tact and a patriarchal tone, all while rocking the man cardigan. Also, I have an immense desire to sit on the couch his subjects run to cry on upon learning their boyfriend is not their baby’s father. My friend Sean, who shares my bizarre love of this docudrama, and I have decided to road trip it to Stamford, Connecticut, to watch this phenomenon unfold before our eyes. And to hear the words, “You are NOT the father.” Ah, the magic of daytime television.
Finally Learn How the Pack’n’Hold Remote at Bed, Bath, and Beyond Works For those of you who haven’t heard, Bed, Bath, and Beyond runs a fantastic program in which you pick the items you want for your dorm room at your neighborhood store and those exact items will be waiting for you at the Bed, Bath, and Beyond closest to you (In our case, at the Towson Town Center Mall. And, honest to blog, I was not paid by Bed, Bath, and Beyond to write this.) The only glitch? You have to scan the items with a machine that’s part universal remote, part laser tag gun, and part light saber. It is my personal goal to master the mystery that is the Pack’n’Hold remote.- Make a Pilgrimage to Seaside Heights I’m both ashamed and humored to admit that the Situation went to my high school. For those of you who haven’t caught on to the Jersey Shore phenomenon, a group of self professed “guidos” have created a culture in which showdog hair poufs, tube tops, and Ed Hardy shirts have all (unfortunately) become popular again. And this cultural revolution happened 20 minutes from my hometown! Just as Borat travelled to the U.S. and A to learn about all things Americana, I will travel to Karma and the boardwalk in an attempt to understand this culture. (Which, as an Italian- American and New Jersey resident, I believe I have an authority to say that the ideas expressed on the show are completely foreign and do not resemble my life in the slightest.)
- Teach Everyone that “Johns Hopkins student” is not synonymous with “Future Doctor” I will admit that except for the three day stint during which I broke my leg, bedazzled my cast, and fell in love with Patrick Dempsey after watching Grey’s Anatomy for hours on end, I have never wanted to be a doctor. While I have utmost respect for doctors, I just don’t see myself practicing medicine. All of a sudden, however, everyone I know – including my own grandmother, who, despite whatever I tell her, thinks that I’m the next Doogie Howser – has decided that I must want to be a doctor upon my decision to attend “John Hopkins” (And every time that I hear about “John Hopkins”, my inner Lynne Truss starts acting up). One part of me wants to keep a first aid kit and stethoscope on my person at all times and yell out the scientific names of sicknesses any time a friend does so much as cough in order to appease these people (Streptococcal Pharyngitis! EBV Infectious Mononucleosis!). The other part of me wants to remind everyone that I’ve wanted to be a writer for my entire life and that Writing Seminars is one of the best creative writing programs in the country (but that’s no big deal, really). I’ve been working on developing the latter part of me this summer.
Appreciate Being Home While I’m Still Here As Dorothy Gale said, “There’s no place like home.” As excited as I am to move to Baltimore this August, it’s going to be strange that my mom won’t ask me how my day was when I come home after school. It’s going to be strange that I won’t eat dinner at my Grandma’s house every Sunday night. It’s going to be strange that in one month, I won’t be living with my sister…or dog. So I’ve been learning to say thank you… to my mom, for patiently teaching me how to do the laundry and informing me that macaroni and cheese is not in its own food group (Although I’ve heard that may change in college). To my dad, for being really, really nice that one time when I spilled orange juice on my laptop and finding someone who could fix it, and for teaching me how to upload my ID picture for my J-Card. And to my sister, for not letting me leave the house when my clothes don’t match.
Sometimes, I can’t wait to get out of my small town and start living on my own. But I’ve come to realize that I have the rest of my life to do that – and only one month to cherish the time I’ve got left here. So to the Johns Hopkins Class of 2014 – I can’t wait to meet each and every one of you. But for now, I challenge you to stop thinking about the cool classes you’ll be taking, which fraternity or sorority you’ll be rushing, and strategically planning which stores you’re going to visit first at the glorious three-story Towson Town Center Mall(which I’m personally guilty of) and live in the present, with the friends and family you’ve grown up with. I’m excited to hear about the things the members of the class of 2014 has crossed off on their bucket lists…but for now, I’m looking forward to finishing mine with the friends and family I love.
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By Evelyn Alexander, September 2, 2010 @ 7:32 PM
Devin -
Welcome to my crusade – and that of every Johns Hopkins alum who is *not* a doctor. You will spend your life correcting people who leave off the “s” in Johns, and informing them that you are not, will not be, never wanted to be a doctor. Glad to have you in the club!