by Mackenzie O’Guin

In a dark, lamplit room, a young girl stares at her laptop through large black-framed reading glasses. An obscure love ballad plays softly as she sips her hot tea, contemplating what to write for her blog.

Sound like a scene from that pretentious, angst-ridden tween novel you bought at your seventh grade book fair? It’s not. It’s me, right now.

Hi. It’s Mack(enzie) O’Guin, lipstick connoisseur and mediocre tea-brewer, and to understand how this blog came to be, I have to tell you a little bit about myself. A firm believer in Carpe Diem, I’m extremely concerned with living to one’s full potential and all that fun existentially aware stuff. This probably explains why nothing is ever truly out of my comfort zone (partially because I don’t even have a comfort zone, I’m always uncomfortable). With that thought, unrivalled determination, and incredibly misplaced confidence, it hit me what my blog had to be. As my half-sister once posted on Pinterest, “Do what you can where you are with what you have.” At the moment, I’m at STA with a blog and some free time, and here’s what I’ve decided to do: pull off a high school bucket list.

What all does this entail? I’m glad you asked, theoretical reader. I have compiled a massive list of things I want to accomplish before I graduate in 2017. Each year, I will select some of the items off of the list and complete them weekly. I’ll post all about my experiences here, for your entertainment. Swell? Swell.

Now, much brainstorming and several gallons of coffee later, my sophomore year list has been finished. The List for this year includes, but is not limited to…

1. Winstead’s Skyscraper Challenge (by myself #pray4mack2014)
2. Visit the Nelson
3. Go an entire day without speaking (I know many people would love this)
4. Interview sexist plaza picketers
5. Blind french fry test
6. Attend a country concert (I hate country music)
7. Learn to drive (watching me operate large machinery is always fun)
8. See a musical
9. Crash a wedding
10. Successfully navigate a huge corn maze
11. Take as many selfies with strangers as physically possible in one week’s time
12. Go Black Friday shopping
13. Perform on a plaza street corner
14. Cook a huge meal without burning a house down (those of you who have seen me cook know this is a terrifying experience)
15. Walk around a public place dressed in costume for an entire day
16. Learn to ride a skateboard
17. Have an unconventional holiday
18. Be completely honest for an entire day
19. Speak only Spanish for one day
20. Learn how to play poker
21. Shadow at a public school
22. Learn another language (besides Spanish and English)
23. Go to a concert to see an artist/group I’ve never heard of
24. Day without makeup
25. Rollercoaster Camera
26. Fly in a hot air balloon
27. Attempt a social experiment (you’ll see, trust me)
28. Start a flash mob
29. Go stag to a dance
30. Police ride along
31. Visit a wax museum.

So, now that I’ve sufficiently set myself up to humiliate myself for your viewing pleasure, please make sure to check in every weekend to see photos, videos, graphics, and more of me making my life more difficult than it needs to be. Thank you so much for sticking with me through this trainwreck of a post, and make sure to comment any ideas you have below, including what you want me to do next week.

So long and goodnight,

Mackenzie Nicole O’Guin