Only One Angelfish in the Sea

Way down in the deep blues of the warm, tropical portions of the Atlantic Ocean live French Angelfish. These fish are beautiful; a blue and black hue with specs of yellow all along their sides. They spend their days swimming along reefs near Florida, the Bahamas and on into the Gulf of Mexico. One of the most beautiful fish, and yet so dumb. Fish are dumb. Some fish only have 8 seconds of lasting memory. So, how can something so pretty be so stupid? I asked myself that very question after my last relationship. And I wasn't referring to the guy.
Humans aren't that romantic. Not any that aren't drawn up by Disney, anyway. I can look at the Angelfish, that stupid, stupid Angelfish and find more things beautiful about them than most people I've met. Angelfish mate for life. They can find one, special fish, who happens to look like all the other fish in the reef, spend every day of their lives with them, hunt for food, and travel the waters together. These "stupid" fish happen to be living the life I want. Who wouldn't want a life in the tropics? Maybe a cooler of Corona's at my side and being with someone I actually want to see on a daily basis. The next man that comes along that actually convinces me I need to see him everyday and talk with him and swim around the reefs with him and hunt for smaller fish to eat, that's the man that will convince me that maybe I'm not just another pretty, but stupid fish in the ocean.
If I ever meet the person that came up with the saying, "plenty of fish in the sea" I might slap him. Not only did my dad say that to me when I was crying in my bed after my 4th grade boyfriend broke my heart, but I also just hate the saying. I don't just think of myself as an ordinary pet goldfish or a trout or salmon on the grill with a slice of lemon. No. Not me. I am an Angelfish. And Angelfish don't mess around. Literally. They don't date around. They find their mate, stay by their side, and even after their spouse dies, they don't move on and date another fish. They swim the waters alone, fully aware that what they had with that one other fish was something special.
What I don't understand about the Angelfish is how they find their fish-mate. Is it a scent? Is it the way they chew their food? Maybe the curves of their dorsal fin? Or maybe it's the way their gills move when they breathe? I have absolutely no idea. And this haunts me in everyday life. Not the Angelfish part, but the how to find a mate part. Now, I can listen to Diana Ross and my mom over and over and no matter how much someone tells me I "can't hurry love, no you just have to wait!" it's not going to matter. You can't tell a girl raised on imagination and Disney movies that nobody's going to save her from distress for awhile.
But as anxious as I am to meet someone and have everything my parents have, my sisters have, my grandparents have; I'm doing pretty well by myself. And maybe that's how you find your Angelfish. You have to have your fish in a row, so to speak. Have your life together, your bad experiences behind you, lessons learned, and that's when you can welcome someone special into your life. Then maybe, you won't just be another fish in the sea, but you'll be a fish that knows exactly what they want...you'll be an Angelfish.


Other animals that mate for life? Gibbons, Termites, Swans, Black Vultures, Wolves, Albatrosses, Doves, and Schistosoma Mansoni Worms.

Oops.

First off, I'd like to apologize for all 3 of you that read my blog and were half-expecting to see my bucket list about 5 months ago. I'm extremely sorry! So, with a new inspiration to actually blog from time to time, here is my list:

Find my own, personal favorite song.
Make a hole-in-one.
Go fishing, eat what I catch.
Ride a bull (mechanical accepted).
Camp on the beach.
Donate/Volunteer for a cause I truly believe in.
Attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Celebrate the Summer Solstice.
Go Star Gazing.
Go ghost hunting (with the bestie, Dave).
Ride a rollercoaster.
Go to a bar and speak with an accent the entire night.
Get a tatoo.
Create a popular blog.
Visit the land of my ancestors.
Make and sell 100 greeting cards for different occasions, donate the money made.
Make a scrapbook/memory box filled of my Europe adventures.
Earn a Girl Scout badge.
Ride a Greyhound Bus.
Save a life (any kind, any way).
Catch the bouquet at a wedding.
Throw a capital B, capital A party.
Karaoke.
Play my guitar in front of people.
Go to Vegas, gamble, preferably win.
Catch Fireflies.
Have a destination wedding.
Set/break a Guinness World Record.
Pick fresh fruit...in Chile (with the pops!)
Hit a half-court shot.
Make it RAIN!
Cook my grandma's favorite recipes, turn it into a cookbook.
Find faith/religion.
Meditate once a day for a month.
Road trip through my home state of Kansas.
Attend all 4 Grand Slam tennis tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open).
Snorkel
Remodel a house.
Try being a vegetarian for an extended amount of time (2 weeks-a month)
Mope-ed my way through Greece.
See Bob Dylan or Dolly Parton in Concert.
Meet a Spice Girl.
Visit Casablanca, Morocco (With all intentions to sit at a bar, drink gin on the rocks and say "Of all the gin joints in all the world, she walks into mine").
Join a gym.
Hitchhike/pick up a hitchhiker.
Visit 5 of the top zoos in the US.
Bike across Kansas.
Rent a limo for a night.
Rent a personal bodyguard for the weekend.
Get a metal detector, find something cool.
Have my palm read.
Send a message in a bottle, throw it out to sea.
Give an amazing toast at a wedding.
Finish writing my Grandpa's fight against cancer story.
Learn each of my grandparent's life stories.
Brew my own beer/make my own wine/or attempt sloe gin.
Get a Master's Degree.
Frame and hang my diploma.
Make a short film.
Have a picnic.
Spend a day building a sand castle.
Take dance lessons.
Learn to surf.
Play a really great April Fool's joke.
Participate in a Beer Pong tournament.
Have a windowsill garden of herbs.
Win a tennis tournament.
Run a 1/2 marathon.
Play gin rummy/bridge with old people.
Make friendship bracelets.
Construct a tire swing.
Study my astrological sign.
Attempt Fung-shui.
Learn about my car (change a tire, change the oil, etc..).
Own a pair of Jimmy Choos.
Live in New York.
See 100 classic films.
Ride in the side car of a motorcycle wearing goggles and a leather helmet.
Eat with chopsticks.
Create/Find my personal style.
Study Mixology.
Pick and can pears with my aunt.
Visit 7 World Wonders.
Go on a road trip with my mom to the largest Farmer's Market in the US.
Visit all 7 continents.
Read 100 works of classic literature.
Stay up for 24 hours doing only fun things.
Get on the Game Show Network.
Ride in a hot air balloon.
Take a cooking class.
Conquer a fear.
Visit all 50 states.
Go Cliff Jumping.
Swing from a rope into a lake.
Celebrate all holidays in one year, include the obscure.
Skinny dip.
Send birthday/holiday cards to friends and family.
See the Northern Lights.
Invent an alcoholic drink, give it an impressive name.
Yell "Drinks on me!" at a crowded bar...and be able to pay.

I have since: joined the LAC gym where I run and swim, Caught the bouquet and made an amazing Maid-of-honor speech at my bestie Maddy's wedding in Kentucky, I was forced to Karaoke with to "All the single ladies" with my little sister and my cousin, I built a tire swing in my back yard (yet have only used it twice), and I also made a memory box filled with my Europe souvenirs.

To those paying close attention, I also have create a popular blog on this list. Here's hoping I remember to update more often! :)

I hope this inspires a lot of people to make bucket lists! And I'll try post pictures of any more bucket list conquests in the future!