Explore Encyclopedia Cave — Daniel Xu ’29

Maybe it’s because of its off-campus location, but everything I’ve seen or heard about this cavern carries a mystical presence. The real granny texture of the place — from both the literal cave itself but also in the precious few photos capturing it — invokes a mid-2000s nostalgia. Speaking from an incredibly retrofitted lens of the past, a past that I myself never lived, Encyclopedia Cave reminds me of an era when phones weren’t the dominant medium, where people lived “in the present” and where I could still envision a use of encyclopedias beyond them lying dormant under the earth.

Visit Antarctica — Megan D’Souza ’29

Though I haven’t put much thought into my bucket list, my mind immediately jumps to traveling. As someone who has roamed the charming streets of Colombia, enjoyed delicious churros in Spain and made recurring trips to visit family in India, I feel like I have seen much of what the world has to offer. One place I have yet to visit, however, is Antarctica. In addition to seeing breathtaking icy landscapes filled with penguins, I would finally be able to say that I’ve visited all seven continents.

Stay overnight on a Japanese sleeper train — Alaina Zhang ’27

I want to watch the night sweep by beyond the window in a Japanese sleeper train as it runs its course in the shadows. Lying on my bed, I can imagine myself staring at my reflection until it begins to blend into the view outside, letting my mind wander through peripheral thoughts and drift into a deep sleep. If it rains, the tiny footprints of clouds against the glass will be the companion for my solitary journey. As I dream of the idea for a great novel, my body will follow the calm rhythm of the ever-running train as it gently trundles towards an unknown destination. 

Watch snow fall — Melita D’Souza ’29

Two weeks ago, I touched snow for the first time on my dorm’s trip to Tahoe. It was exciting, but it was like the feeling of arriving after the moment has already passed. What’s still on my bucket list is seeing snow fall — watching winter happen in real time instead of observing the aftermath. I want to know if it really is as magical as everyone says. 

Compete on “Jeopardy” — Kaylee Chan ’27

I watched a bit of the show with my family in elementary school, then again around the time of James Holzhauer’s 2019 streak. I haven’t returned to it in recent years, but this past week I was struck with a sudden desire to make it on the show. My high school never had a Quiz Bowl, so this is my one chance to find out if I’ve been blessed with preternatural buzzer skills. I’ve started learning trivia, and it’s an uphill battle. I’m decent at literature but terrible at geography. Sporcle and Jetpunk have become my best friends. At the rate I’m going, I’ll have enough general knowledge recall to make my TV debut in two decades, give or take. For now, I’ll burden myself with the lovely task of learning useless info.

Go to the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid — Sharis Hsu ’28 

In the summer of 2024, as a fresh graduate from high school, I and seven other friends traveled to Kingsport, Tennessee for a robotics competition. When I heard I was spending my post-senior summer in Tennessee, I wrongly assumed that we would be in the western part filled with country music, the Mississippi River and of course, the iconic Bass Pro Shops Pyramid. This was a wrong assumption. Instead, we landed in the far eastern part of Tennessee, and the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid became nothing but a beacon of light we could not reach. But someday, I am determined to go see it in all of its glory.