Because we've also lived in the past...

Time for another update from Becky! This blog was started to document our check-marks, adventures, or whatever you care to call them. So far, we've been having so much fun and really seem to be on a roll. However, Sam and I have always been pretty adventurous people (most of the time to avoid boredom). We often talk to each other about the many things that we have already crossed off of our list, before we became "The Go Getters". So, for this post I've chosen to write about five items on my personal list that got crossed off before "Oh, I've Done That".


#24. Go to the Kentucky Derby

I grew up riding horses, so in my eyes the Kentucky Derby was like the Super Bowl. My freshman year at the University of Delaware, I learned that my friend Riane actually lived in Louisville, Kentucky (home of the derby)! When she invited a group of us for a weekend of Derby greatness, we jumped on board. To make a long story short, after a very long and eventful road trip, we were off to The Kentucky Oaks and Derby! For those of you who are not familiar with the events of the Derby, Oaks is a series of races held the Friday before Derby specifically reserved for fillies (young female horses).  One of the best parts about Oaks is that tickets in the grand stands are much cheaper than on the Saturday of Derby. So, on the day of Oaks, we decided to do Churchill Downs the way it was meant to be done; all dressed up in sundresses and huge hats.

To sum up the events of the day, when a group of young nicely dressed girls walk around Churchill Downs, everyone thinks they are famous. We were interviewed for magazines, newspapers, our photos were taken for websites, and we even appeared on the popular ABC show "Dancing with the Stars"! On the Saturday of the Derby, we had tickets in the in-field and spent the day drinking and gambling our money away,  waiting to catch a glimpse of the two minute stampede.

This is what happens in the in-field...

To this day it is still one of the best weekends of my life.



#25 Drive a Zamboni

This one, I feel like a lot of you can relate to. I mean come on, who wouldn't want to drive a Zamboni?!  Last year, my friend Scott managed to snag a job at the University of Delaware's ice arena, being one of the Zamboni drivers. Once my friends and I caught wind of this news, we would constantly bug him to take us on rides. However, out of fear of loosing his job, he always had to decline. Fast forward to a week before graduation...Scott decided it was FINALLY time!! (the worst they could do was fire him, but he was leaving in a week so who cared) So, along with an all around good night at the ice rink (snowball fights, messing with the scoreboard, etc.) we each got a chance to take the Zamboni for a spin.

And yes, it was as awesome as I expected it to be! It also went surprisingly faster than I thought it could go. Haha.



#26. Be immortalized

Okay, so I know many of you may find this one extremely egocentric, but I don't care. I like to believe that my life will have some meaning even after I am gone. Sure, with today's technologies, my life is already plastered all over a number of social networking sites; but to me, all that stuff is garbage. Perhaps, my studies and career choice have extremely influenced my views on this subject, but I wanted something to permanently capture a specific time in my life. The opportunity arose for me to sit for a portrait artist. I couldn't pass it up. After a total of 7 hours of sitting, there is now a permanent portrayal of me as I am now, at 22 years old.

© David Shevlino

Even years after I'm gone, this painting will still be here. And maybe, just maybe, someday someone will look at this portrait and wonder about the person portrayed, just as I have done so many times before.


#27. Walk on water

Obviously, this one was left up to my own interpretation, unless I turned out to be the long lost ancestor of Christ...but let's be serious. While driving through North Jersey, a group of us found a lake that was completely frozen over. At first, I was absolutely terrified to walk out on the ice, but after minutes of peer pressure, I decided to go for it! I freaked out a number of times (every time I saw a crack or heard a cracking noise) but we continued to the center of the lake.

I know this may not seem interesting to some of you, but don't knock it till you've tried it! It really was a breath taking experience; to stand somewhere that normally you could only get to by boat.


#28. Go to a presidential inauguration

I was very active during the presidential campaign of Barack Obama in 2009, (going to rallies, volunteering at speaking events, registering young voters, etc.) so it only felt right to go to his welcome party! Scott's granny lives about 25 minutes outside of D.C. in Virginia so the night before we crashed there, in order to get an early start for the big day. We had to take the train into the city, because they closed all bridges to and from D.C. in order to regulate the crowds. Being in the train was a whole experience in of itself. For those of you who can't imagine it, this is exactly what it was like...



And for someone like me, who can get extremely claustrophobic, it was not a fun ride (I almost had 3 panic attacks on the way there). Finally after a 30 minute train ride, we arrived in D.C. but were barricaded into the underground Metro station, because the streets were already so crowded outside, that there was actually no room for us to even fit outside on the National Mall. Once we FINALLY got above ground and outside, it was like nothing I've ever experienced.

There we were, over 2 million people, all together for the same reason. Every conflict, every sense of bitterness, everyone left their past behind and for this one day we were all unified. We all made our mark on history. After Barack Obama was sworn it, there were tears of joy all around. People of all ages, all races, and all creeds were hugging each other as if they've known each other all their lives. The energy in the air was overwhelming. We all knew that what we experienced would never be forgotten.

So, thanks to everyone for traveling back in time with me and reliving some of my past adventures.  And just like always, we are taking suggestions for our list and encouraging you to go out and complete your own list. Tell us what you've done! We love hearing from you!

Until next time, good luck exploring the infinite abyss.

Love always,
The Go Getters

I'm reading: Because we've also lived in the past...