I’ve been hugely fortunate in my life to have already done some incredible things, among them: living in a mud hut by myself in Kenya; spending a week on a desert island in Borneo; going on safari in the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania; taking in the wonder of Halong Bay in Vietnam by boat; diving with green turtles in Malaysia and watching the sun rise over the Taj Mahal. So when I decided to sit down today and write my bucket list, it’s fair to say the bar was already set extremely high.

Why write a bucket list? Because in two and a half weeks’ time I will be turning thirty two – an age that two of my friends who tragically passed away this year will now never grow older than. It’s a desperately sad and sobering experience when people the same age as you die. It brings a lot of things into sharp focus and makes you realise what’s really important and what’s of little or no significance at all. It also makes you want to squeeze every last drop out of life that you can, because heaven only knows when your time will be up too.

I’ve spent a long time coming up with this list. Whilst experiences and travelling make up most of it, I felt it was important to also have some personal life aspirations and altruistic goals thrown into the mix. I’m pleased as I read it back now to see that only one thing on the list (no.14) is about ownership of something, which should hopefully help me to achieve no.37…

And so, without further ado, I give you…Belle’s Bucket List:

1. Swim with whale sharks in the Philippines
2. Dive with sharks
3. Complete a marathon
4. Go to Las Vegas and fly over the Grand Canyon in a helicopter
5. Go husky sledding, see the northern lights and stay in an ice hotel
6. Go on a writing retreat
7. Have a novel published
8. Dance in Rio for Mardi Gras
9. Trek Machu Picchu
10. Go up, up and away in a hot air balloon in Burma
11. Visit Tibet and Nepal
12. Rave at Burning Man festival in Nevada’s Black Rock desert
13. Volunteer on Christmas Day
14. Own a house
15. Learn a choreographed dance
16. Stay in a hut on stilts over a tropical sea
17. Hula in Hawaii
18. Stay in at least five homestays in remote villages
19. Read 100 Booker Prize-winning books
20. Take a trip on the Orient Express
21. Exchange wedding vows with someone I love
22. Have someone call me “Mummy”
23. Get back to nature in the Galapagos Islands
24. Go on a cruise
25. Canoe in the Amazon rainforest
26. Float in the Dead Sea
27. Party in New Orleans
28. Give blood
29. See a polar bear in the wild
30. Ski in the Canadian Rockies
31. Stay on a ranch and ride horses
32. Go on a road trip
33. See Ayers Rock
34. Eat in a world class restaurant
35. Be an extra in a film or TV series
36. See the pyramids in Egypt
37. Stop worrying about money
38. Overcome anxiety and self-doubt
39. Take a giant leap of faith
40. Make someone feel less lonely