My Life Bucket List: To See The Aurora Borealis

As promised at the beginning of the semester, I saved my last passion blog post for the top thing on my life bucket list. Excuse me if this post is all over the place, in case you couldn’t tell with a lot of my other goals and aspirations, I get really excited when talking about the things I want to do with my life. Seeing the Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights as some of you know them by, has been at the top of my bucket list for as long as I can remember, and I get so unbelievably excited thinking about seeing them. I do have to say, however, that I’m not adding the words “hopefully” or “maybe” into this post, because I know for a fact that this is something I will have to do, and something I will be sure I allow myself to do at least once in my life.

UnknownMy main reason for wanting to see the Aurora Borealis, as there are many, is because I believe they are the closest thing we have to magic here on earth. Or, up in the sky, if you want to get technical. Ever since I was a kid and forced my parents to have a magician perform tricks in my living room for my 4th birthday party, I have been obsessed with magic and the unknown. I love figuring out how things work, and being mystified by the unknown all at the same time. I’ve always wanted to believe in magic, which was clearly evident when I would pretend I was a mermaid before the creation of the Harry Potter series, and once those were introduced, a witch with my own set of spells for many years after.

Another reason I want to see them is due to my love of science. I think that’s pretty self explanatory, in the sense that I’ve always loved science, again from wanting to understand how things work, and how to make things and create things from smaller pieces. I don’t really know much of the science behind the Aurora Borealis, partly because I never really wanted to look into it too much. I want it to continue to remain a magical phenomenon to me, so that all it is is an appreciation of the unknown, of something beautiful and unique that I can’t even explain to myself.

1600x1200-aurora-borealis01I should probably also add that astrology in general fascinates me. If it wasn’t for the fact that I could stargaze any night I choose, stargazing would definitely be something I’d want to add to my bucket list. But, as it is, I’ve done a lot of stargazing in my lifetime, from struggling to find the one or two stars in the city smog covered sky, to laying out on the dock in an isolated Canadian cabin and realizing for the first time that there are thousands and millions of stars to actually be seen when the sky is clear.

As with Machu Picchu, I get so excited talking about the Northern Lights that I can’t really conclude anything about how much I love them. I can say for certainty that I typed this blog post really fast and really loud because I was getting too excited writing about them. But even so, there’s just something about the combined magic and mystery in witnessing them that has be so unbelievably excited to cross seeing them off my bucket list at some point in my life.

Since this is our last passion blog post of the semester (I think), I want to end by asking you, my readers, to tell me some of the things on your lifetime bucket list. I’m always looking for things to add to mine, and I get almost as excited listening to someone else’s goals and aspirations as I do planning to complete my own. If you don’t have a bucket list, I strongly suggest you make one. It’s a great way to figure out what you’re passionate about, and set goals for your life outside of the normal standards.

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5 Responses to My Life Bucket List: To See The Aurora Borealis

  1. Abby Koehler says:

    I also want to see the Northern Lights at some point! The pictures are so beautiful, and seeing them in person would be amazing! Right now I’m in ASTRO 001, and we learned about how the Northern Lights work. I won’t spoil it, but it’s pretty interesting and cool! And if you love astronomy, you should totally consider taking ASTRO 001. I know you don’t need any science GenEds, but maybe if you have room senior year or something, you could fit it in! It’s really easy and doesn’t have a lot of homework/studying. Anyway, I’ve really enjoyed reading your bucket list, and it has inspired me to write my own!

  2. Emily Isaacs says:

    I’m with you on this. I’d love to see the Aurora Borealis and I loved how much passion you spoke with about it. You should definitely go after this, as it truly is magical, even with the science behind it–they’re like extreme, noiseless fireworks that come in waves. Your post made me excited to go see the Aurora Borealis more than ever!

  3. Allie Whitman says:

    This has been on my bucket list as well! I think I really wanted to see it after reading the series His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. I’ve been to Iceland and the islands north of Scotland, but it was in summer, so there were no Northern Lights visible. Thanks for a great series of passion blogs!!

  4. Nicole Kirchner says:

    The Aurora Borealis is something that I have always wanted to see as well!! They are such a mystery, even though there is science behind why they occur. Like you, I have not looked into the science behind the Northern Lights because I think that it would ruin the mystery of them. I definitely want to see the Northern Lights sometime!! In regards to your inquiry about my bucket list, I do not have a written down definite bucket list. It changes as something else new and cool comes along that I wish to experience. After reading your blogs, though, I have decided to try to write down a bucket list!!

  5. Jack Hatzell says:

    The Aurora Borealis is so surreal. Just seeing pictures of it amazes me. It is crazy to me that something like that can form in the sky. That is definitely something that I would love to see in my lifetime and it would definitely be an awesome adventure.

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