The Mission

Life.

Life is the topic to be explored at the core of this blog.

Life is awesome. It is, indeed, a great gift, and the richest of lives is filled with lessons, challenges, elations, and good stories.

And we only know for certain that we get one. There is no guarantee of an afterlife or of next lives, and there is, furthermore, no guarantee that you'll wake up the next time you close your eyes. But I'm not saying this to be depressing. I'm saying it to ground myself. And to inspire.

I think we all want to live rich and happy lives. That is our vision, but it remains a vision until we take that first step towards realizing it. I have all these things I want to do in my short time on this spaceship Earth, and my fear is that if I spend my whole life tossing those ideas around, I'll be laying on my deathbed one day wondering where the time got to.

Simultaneously, I'm dealing with the fact that this is my last year of college. I'm not saying I expect my life to peak during my college years. My hope is to always be working towards something better. However, college does offer a uniquely conducive environment for my kind of mission. I'm young and free and have access to all these amazing resources, and I essentially live in a city of my friends.

Simply put the iron is hot, and I think it's time to start striking. It's time to stop sitting and watching life pass me by, to stop wondering, to stop worrying, and just jump on board and see where it will take me.

And so this is my official declaration to my friends, to my enemies, to the world, and to myself: that I will attempt to take on a 100-item bucket list during my fourth year of college. This list has a little bit of everything, including but not limited to UVA traditions, adventure, chances to improve-myself, chances to advance my career, chances to good for others, and to leave a small but profound dent on the world. I don't know if I'll get through all of them in a year, but I will try my hardest. And, in the meantime, I'll write of my experiences for all the world to see, with the hopes that I'll find some good stories and maybe even a little wisdom to share with others.

I hope this list inspires myself and others to stop worrying about life and start living it.

My name is Will Paradis, and these are some of my dreams. I look forward to fulfilling them and sharing them with you.