[4/21] - Seventeen [http://www.seventeen.com/college-career/21-things-csp-0606]

• Take a road trip.
  • Mapping the route, singing at the top of your lungs, and discovering new towns with friends is the ultimate bonding experience.
• Learn to play a musical instrument.
  • I can play only a few chords, but I love the expressive power of music — and the possibility that one day you can learn to create something beautiful through it.
• Go skinny-dipping!
  • It’s the most liberating thing ever. You have to let go of your insecurities when you take off your clothes. But you’re hidden by the water — so it’s like bending the rules. Who decided we have to wear clothes, anyway?
• Save $1,000.
  • Just seeing that big number in your bank account is rewarding — knowing you did it alone.
• Know your grandparents.
  • Ask them (or your parents) about their lives at your age. You might be shocked by how much insight they have — and the crazy things they did!
• Buy a lottery ticket.
  • But just one. Everyone should take one million-to-one shot in their lives — it’s fun to dream such a big and outrageous dream.
• Win an award.
  • It doesn’t matter if it’s a contest for role models or pie-eating — you can be the best at something. And there’s no fulfillment quite like everyone else knowing it too.
• ✔ Say “I love you.”
  • It takes courage to be vulnerable. But it’s the only way to create the possibility that someone will love you back the way you deserve.
• Learn to drive a stick shift.
  • You never know when you’ll get into a situation where you may need to know how. Plus, in terms of gas, these cars are better on your wallet.
• Milk a cow.
  • I was terrified to do it, but conquering this small thing helped me do even bigger scary stuff.
• Forgive someone.
  • A girl wrote “b****” on my locker when I was 16, and it always ate away at me inside. But when I made amends with her, the bad feelings evaporated.
• Have your fortune told.
  • Sure, it’s kind of silly. But doing it is really a reminder that in the end, only you hold the power to chart your own destiny.
• Go to a drive-in.
  • Seriously, the best place on earth! Where else can you watch a movie, get a great burger, talk and walk around with friends, and see the stars — all at the same time?
• Do your own laundry.
  • It’s the first step on the long (but gratifying) road to independence.
• ✔ Ride a horse.
  • Okay, it might sound cheesy, but when you connect with this animal and the wind blows through your hair, it’s the closest feeling to real freedom.
• Donate your formal dresses.
  • You’ll give someone the chance to be a princess for one night. (And, yes, it’s okay to feel like one!)
• ✔ See the ocean.
  • I felt so small next to this huge, timeless thing — and it inspired me to make the most of my life.
• Waitress at least once.
  • Serving someone is humbling, plus it teaches you how to communicate and multitask — two skills you’ll use forever.
• See one thing that is “the world’s largest.”
  • Even if it’s just a frying pan — at least it can be your temporary claim to fame!
• ✔ Leave the country.
  • Going to England, I realized how narrow my world really was — and that travel was the best way I could expand it.
• Learn how to love your body.
  • I’m just now starting to feel perfect as I am because I have knobby knees and moles — not in spite of them.