It’s rare when a movie sums up a concept so well that it becomes applied to the lives of almost everyone.

One example from almost 20 years ago was The Bucket List, a good story about two old men who want to live out a set of dreams before they kick the bucket.

I’d never thought in terms of a bucket list until I saw the movie at Marshall 6. After seeing it I realized that bucket lists really do play a role in how people live.

My bucket list has changed over the years. There are three things that I’ve achieved and two that I now realize I’ll never achieve.

I’ll never go into space. In the 1970s I was almost certain that I would. I thought science would advance so much that practically everyone would engage in space travel.

I’ll also never ride a bicycle across the country from coast to coast. When I was young I was sure I could do that once I grew up. I thought I’d start out in Maine, stay in the northern part of the country and finish in Oregon.

The first thing I achieved was my goal to earn a letter in high school golf. In seventh grade I made a decision to play golf when I entered Marshall High School. I had a lot of catching up to do since some of the boys started playing with cut down clubs when they were about five.

I had a good first two years on B-squad and earned a medalist ribbon in Tracy. At that point I had to make a choice between trying for a letter or going to Spain with my Spanish classmates.

My golf coach, Steve Johnson, was very honest about not being able to guarantee me a letter if I gave up Spain. It would depend on how I played and how my scores compared to other members on the team.

I lettered by doing well enough in qualifying rounds to play in more than half the meets. The letter was a one shot opportunity. If I’d have passed it up, I’d never have known what it was like to wear a letter jacket. It now hangs on a coat rack in my bedroom.

When I was a young professional I achieved the bucket list item of winning an award for journalism. I became Lyon County’s Friend of 4-H in 1995, went to a state fair luncheon with all of Minnesota’s county winners.

Five years later I was awarded a statewide Communicator of the Year Award from Minnesota’s Soil and Water Conservation Districts. I accepted the award at the SWCD state convention. The 4-H and SWCD awards still hang on one of my bedroom walls.

My third bucket list achievement was earning a masters degree, an MBA from Southwest Minnesota State University in 2007. I was the only member of my immediate family who didn’t have one. I wanted it, and left my reporting job to earn it.

I still have a bucket list. I doubt that I’ll ever get to Spain or Europe, but I would like to visit New England and three or four national parks of the West. I’ve been to Texas, Colorado and Upper Michigan.

I’d like to collect postcards of state capitals from all 50 states, and so far only have 12. I’d like to find more 1958 Minnesota state centennial buttons from individual counties after so far only finding nine of the 87.

I’d like to turn one of several book drafts into a published book. I want to keep in touch with relatives, friends and classmates. My most long range bucket list item is to keep writing my newspaper column until I’m at least 85. I want to share my thoughts every week with you and all of my readers.

I think it’s important for people of all ages to have a bucket list. Even someone who is no longer mobile or who has memory issues should have things they still want to achieve.

Sometimes people surprise themselves. I have an aunt who ran her first marathon when she was 60 years old.

It’s all about believing in ourselves and believing in God. Without Him nothing is important. With God in our lives nothing is impossible.

Our teenagers and younger adults need to set high goals for themselves. I’ve seen my two nieces and nephew reach goals, everything from dance recitals to fun runs. My nephew took up trapshooting, and I let him have my dad’s gun for hunting. He also did well in high school football, scoring three touchdowns.

The best we can hope for is to look back on our lives and be satisfied with what we’ve done. Hopefully no one feels like they missed out. Hopefully the financial, social and emotional investments we make lead to rewards.

— Jim Muchlinski is a longtime reporter in southwest Minnesota