Dead College Career Walkin’: My Senior Year Bucket List

There’s a scene from The Green Mile that keeps coming to mind whenever anyone reminds me that this approaching school year will be my last. It’s the scene where the wrongfully accused death row inmate is being led to his cell as the prison guard yells “dead man walking.” Now believe it or not, I’m not writing this from death row. This won’t be my last year in college because I’m going to be put to death, this will be my last year in college because I’m a senior. Sure it’s being dramatic, but my college career will soon be put to death (and I guess I’ll then be reincarnated as a more boring, responsible person in the work force).

Just like in The Green Mile where the main character (that isn’t Tom Hanks) doesn’t get the governor’s reprieve, I won’t be getting the reprieve of grad school to extend my college life. Maybe it’s because as a journalism major the job prospects after graduation seem so bleak, but if you couldn’t tell already, I’m going to miss college. Then again, do accounting majors really look forward to being done with their college careers? Sure they can look forward to steady income, but the kicker is that they have to get that income by doing accounting. That’s got to suck.

Despite what it may sound like at this point, I don’t live in a constant state of malaise over my “situation” as a senior though. The college me may be a “dead man walking,” but I have every intention of making my final year on campus a memorable one. To do so, I’ve taken a cue from another film (The Bucket List) and made myself a senior year bucket list. It is as follows, ranked from most likely to least likely to be accomplished.

Make The Dean’s List:

Might as well get the most boring important one of the way first here. It’s just that I’ve flirted with the Dean’s List so much my first few years that I figure I might as well just take it on a date just to see where things go, ya know? Getting on the Dean’s List is obviously a good idea academically, and putting in the extra work to get there while still maintaining a social life shouldn’t be too difficult.

Go On An Awesome Spring Break:

In three years of college I haven’t gotten to go on a proper spring break yet. Whether it was due to financial implausibility or a lack of forethought, I’ve spent my breaks going back home to relax and recharge in the tundra of northern Minnesota rather than any more exotic locales. That’s all fine and dandy, but my last year deserves a huge spring break. No idea where just yet, but I’m already saving up cash to make it happen.

Take A Road Trip:

Whether it’s trekking to party at your buddy’s distant campus or invading rival territory to watch an away football game, a road trip can complete anyone’s college experience. Being in Minnesota also affords me a unique road trip opportunity. Another country (Canada, not Mexico you idiot) is right there waiting for adventurous American collegians to cross the border to wreak some havoc. I imagine they just hand you a Labatt as you cross national lines, which sounds like a fun time.

Legendary Prank:

For fear of being implicated in any future investigations on campus, I won’t delve into specifics on this one.

Celebrate A National Title

This one is a little out of my reach, because I’m not a Division I athlete (not on death row and not a Division I athlete, you guys are learning so much about me in this article). Still, after years of sporting disappointment at the University of Minnesota, the one thing that could truly complete my college experience is the thrill of victory for one of our big sports teams. Since our football team couldn’t win the lingerie football league and our basketball team is cursed or something, it looks like all my hope is on the hockey team. Coincidentally, our hockey team looks primed to compete for a title this season. In Minnesota, we care about our hockey, so this would be a huge deal. It’s a long shot, but a national title would be the perfect “last meal” before the college me dies.

I know some of the things on my college senior bucket list will be difficult to attain, but I’ll be sure to at least accomplish some of these before gettting the chair walking across that stage for graduation. I suggest all my fellow seniors do the same, so our college selves can truly rest in peace.

Tags: bucket list, college career, college careers, dead man walking, death row inmate, end of school, featured, first few years, graduation, green mile, pranks, prison guard, reprieve, responsible person, road trip, spring break, the green mile, tom hanks

Category: Fun, Future, Quarter-Life Crisis