一生に一度はやってみたいこと（#640）

Jun's Bucket List: From Solo Travel to Family Adventures

In his twenties, Jun had two items near the top of his bucket list: skydiving and solo travel — and he checked off both. The solo travel experience stands out in particular. In his mid-twenties he spent ten days traveling through Thailand entirely on his own, with nothing but a Lonely Planet guidebook in hand — no smartphone, no apps. He describes it as one of the experiences that changed his life most profoundly, and he believes everyone should try traveling solo at least once.

Now that he is older, his bucket list has shifted. His current top priority is traveling to as many countries as possible with his children. They are still young, but once they are a little older he hopes to explore Europe and Southeast Asia together as a family and create memories that will last a lifetime.

Jesse and Elisa's Bucket List Conversation

When Elisa asks Jesse whether he has a bucket list, he names his number-one item without hesitation: cage diving with a great white shark. Elisa reacts with surprise — "That sounds terrifying" — but Jesse has a very clear reason for the dream.

The Origin of a Passion: Watching Jaws at Age Two

Jesse's fascination with sharks started when he watched the movie Jaws at age two. He acknowledges with a laugh that "it was probably pretty questionable parenting," but far from being frightened, he loved the film. His mother recalls that he actually rooted for the shark, and at the climactic moment when the shark explodes, young Jesse turned to her and asked, "Mom, what happened to the poor shark?"

From that moment on, Jesse has watched Discovery Channel's Shark Week almost every year since the 1990s — a passion that has now lasted more than thirty years.

From the Cage to the Open Ocean

Jesse's plan is incremental. First, he wants to swim with a great white shark inside a cage; if that goes well, he envisions eventually swimming with one in the open ocean without a cage. He already has relevant experience: he worked summer jobs at SeaWorld for several years, which means he is "been there, done that" when it comes to smaller sharks. Having already seen lemon sharks and other "quote-unquote lesser species," the great white is the clear next step.

When Elisa asks whether a shark bite would make him abandon the dream, Jesse admits he probably would not try again — which prompts Elisa to quip that the whole thing sounds less like a bucket list item and more like a serious life goal.

The Reverse Bucket List: A New Way to Look Back

To close the episode, Jun introduces the concept of the "reverse bucket list." While a traditional bucket list focuses on what you still want to do, a reverse bucket list asks you to write down the meaningful experiences you have already had and the things you have already accomplished.

When Jun tried it himself, he noticed something striking: experiences that had once felt like enormous dreams tended to fade from memory the moment they were achieved, as his attention immediately moved on to the next goal. The reverse bucket list shifts the lens from "what am I still missing?" to "look how much I have already done." Jun encourages listeners to try making their own reverse bucket list — they may find that their younger selves would be genuinely proud of what they have already lived through.

Phrases Covered in This Episode

Five expressions appear naturally throughout the conversation: **bucket list** (a list of things to do before you die), **root for** (to cheer for someone or something), **been there, done that** (already experienced something), **quote, unquote** (so-called; used to signal skepticism about a label), and **turn someone off** (to kill someone's interest or enthusiasm). Each phrase is demonstrated in context through actual dialogue, making them easy to absorb.