NOW CLOSED Tell Pink Lady® what would have been on your bucket list of things to do before you’re 21 – a bottle of pink Taittinger champagne and flutes worth £100 to be won

[AngelieMumsnet]

As part of their 21st birthday celebration, we've been asked by Pink Lady® apples to find out what was on (or is on if you're still that side of 21) your bucket list of 'Things to do by the time you're 21'.

They say "Pink Lady® apples first arrived in the UK 21 years ago and we are celebrating in true Pink Lady® style! We're running an on-pack promotion where you can win one of 21 prizes that are on our birthday wish-list, including a trip to the Big Apple, a week in Tuscany and a jaunt on the Orient Express. Between turning 21, the traditional 'coming of age', and a wish-list packed full of adventures, it got us wondering what people did, or thought they would have done, by the time they hit this major milestone."

So, did/do you have a bucket list of things to do before your 21st birthday? Maybe you wanted to see the world or go on holiday with your friends? Did you aspire to go to university or start climbing that career ladder? Maybe you were determined to do a skydive, or get the piercing you'd always wanted? Or perhaps it was as simple as falling in love? Did you achieve any of them? Any epic fails?

Is there anything you wish you'd done before turning 21? If you could, what would you tell your younger self to do? What would you advise your DC's to do before they are 21?

Whatever you did or wish you had done, Pink Lady® would love to hear about it.

Everyone who adds their comments on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer can win a bottle of pink Taittinger champagne and two champagne flutes worth £100.

Please note your comments may be included on Pink Lady's social media channels (Facebook and Twitter), and possibly elsewhere, so please only post if you agree to this.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

PS For a chance to win a prize from the Pink Lady® 21st birthday wish-list, pick up a specially marked pack in your local store from 1st July and enter the competition here.

[mindingalongtime]

21, gosh that is a long time ago! I just wish that I had learned to save and not spend all I earned, and it was a lot too!

[chrismse]

I wanted to live in London, managed to do this when I was 18 by working and living in a large hotel. Hated the hotel work but loved London. :)

[Nigglenaggle]

I never had a list, but what I wish I'd done was experiment more with my appearance - dyed my hair purple, pierced my eyebrows, dressed like a goth - as its much harder now I have a grown up sensible job!

[Babycarmen]

Travel
Decide on a career
get a piercing/tattoo
take a holiday with mates!

[WhereAreMyShoes]

A few weeks after I turned 21 I finally shook off the terrible EA boyfriend that robbed me of my teenage years.

If I could say anything to a 21 year old me I would have told her your life has only just started. And it'll be alright.
And you are the most gorgeous you'll ever be. Just enjoy it!

[Howstricks]

Travel the world staring meaningfully into beautiful sunsets whilst looking gorgeously tragic. (What a muppet!)

[TerraNotSoFirma]

Mines was....

Learn to drive.
Spend Christmas in New York.
Do a summer holiday abroad with just the girls.

Didnt do it by 21 or 31... Am still hopeful for 41 :)

The only one of these I'll encourage the DC to do is learn to drive, the rest they can decide for themselves.

[eteo]

i always want to have a boyfriend before im 21. i didnt had one till 22. not good at all.

[GenericDietCola]

I wanted to go to university as far away from home as possible, so that I could be independent. I achieved this, by moving to a big city 300 miles away and loved every minute.

[CalamityJ]

Leave home and go to uni so I didn't have to work in the crappy dead end jobs I'd been doing in my home town

Travel more but funds always got in the way.

See my football team play in Europe - tick, it happened!

[Puppypoppet]

No I didn't have a bucket list of things to do before my 21st birthday. At the time I just wanted to party and travel. I just wanted to progress at work and earn more money which would lead to more partying and travel. I was not so bothered about live bands at the time I was more into house music / raves / clubbing.

I wish I had gone to uni just for the experience don't think it would have made any difference to my career though. I would tell my younger self to enjoy being slim - I was a size 8-10 at the time but used to live in baggy jeans and t shirts (well it was the early 90s). I would advise my DC to firstly ensure they are happy and do whatever job / study they want to - just follow their dreams really!

[BlackeyedSusan]

go to university
live away from parents
travel abroad (other than a party destination) eg to see a significant landmarks or places of historical interest. berlin was particularly interesting.
learn to drive, change a wheel and basic car maintenance
go to a beach and have a sunset picnic.
do at least one of the following: windsurf/surf/waterski/whitewater rafting/kayaking in beautiful scenery/sailing/diving. i particularly recommend kayaking on the sea. fabulous.

[snowymum12]

I would definitely have worried less about the future and have been more open to embracing every opportunity presented to me. Definitely should have travelled more, a missed trip to Australia and on a tall ship really saddens me especially.

[lottiegarbanzo]

Well, being pedantic, a 'bucket list' for things to do by 21 suggests you think you're going to die at 21. A list of things you dream of achieving by 21 can relate to the time that follows; steps on a path, or things you know you might not have time, or the inclination for, later.

I took going to university pretty much for granted but it was certainly important, in anticipation and retrospect.

I think I wanted to have fallen in love, read quantities of great literature and discovered what I wanted from life.

I do think that reading, travel, learning languages and seeking and seizing opportunities for new experiences are massively valuable, so much easier to do when young and have time and easy social acceptance doing things that mostly other young people do. That relates more to the 18-25 or 28 or 30 stretch than pre-21 though.

So, I think getting to know yourself is the really important one for that age. Listen to yourself and learn. Get an idea of what you want from life. Pursue that single-mindedly but allow yourself to try new, surprising and stretching things too. Don't be scared to change your mind, on your own terms. Do not dither about allowing yourself to be blown in the wind of other people's desires.

[Blatherskite]

Do more travelling/partying/experiences before you are married and have kids and it's harder.

I wish I'd gone backpacking and gone to more gigs and made more of being young, skinny and free before I wasn't anymore

[noo1985]

I have to say I never saw it as any time to have completed things by! I would say it is a lot more achievable to think of things you want to achieve by 30 which I am rapidly approaching.

If I had to think of things now I wished I had achieved by the time I turned 21 they would have been to complete or being in the process of completing a degree, to have lived by myself, be in happy relationship!

[justtired]

travel somewhere exotic
live on my own and feel in charge of my own life
finish uni
have lots of fun being single and carefree before settling down.

managed a couple of them :-)

[Mouseface]

I didn't really have a Bucket List as such, I wanted my boyfriend to ask me to marry him on my 21st, which he did, and I wanted to get my own place, which I did. I dumped him a few weeks later, after finding out he was cheating on me. B@st@rd!


Is there anything you wish you'd done before turning 21? - Travelled to Australia with my best friend.

If you could, what would you tell your younger self to do? - Say NO to the boyfriend when he asks you to marry him! And don't get that tattoo on your arm, put it somewhere hidden if you have to have it, even though you designed it yourself and it's not horrid, it'll look dreadful when you are 60+ with wrinkled arms and no longer clubbing!

What would you advise your DC's to do before they are 21? - Live their lives to the fullest, the way that THEY want to (unless they are still living under my roof ), remember life's precious, it's wonderful and it can be the most amazing gift ever, carve your way carefully. :)

[Wheresthecoffee]

I didn't have a list as such, if I had it would have been along these lines..
Travel further
Party more
Learn to drive

[lottiegarbanzo]

Argh, I needed a comma after 'about' in my last sentence. So, make the effort to learn punctuation, grammar and syntax. You then have it for life.

[wavesandsmiles]

Before 21 bucket list successes were:
Go to uni
Get a tattoo
Get a piercing
Do a skydive
Things I didn't do but were on the list:
Travel
Be in a loving relationship

What I wish i could tell my younger self:
Save a bit (less clothes and nights out)
Do your travelling
Stay away from bad boys

I hope that my DCs will be able to live independently, travel, and find a measure of happiness in themselves by the time that they are 21.

[alreadytaken]

I have never had a bucket list, hadn't even heard the phrase before 21. What I badly wanted to do was

live away from home
go to university
fall in love

and I did them all. After that I was keen to have a home of my own and even if it took a long time to own more than the front door I managed that too. I wish I'd learnt to drive before I was 21 as it would have been easier than learning later in life.

My DC has far more ambitious aims than I had. They have already

travelled to several countries, including America
been on holiday with friends
learnt to drive,
abseiled
stayed up all night
learnt to play an instrument

Their current ambitions are to ride in a hot air balloon, stay in America for several months, go to medical school and visit every continent (may take a bit longer than 21). I tell them that the friends they make at university will probably be friends for life so look beyond the people you live with.

[WhyIRayLiotta]

I didn't really have a list. But I remember being about 14/15 and dreaming of going to festivals. And promising myself that as soon as I was 18 I would go to Glastonbury. I never did. So I regret that. Now I'm too old / have a baby so I don't think I'll ever do the whole festival thing.

As for advice - I would say travel. I never took a gap year / or any long term travelling. And that also seems unlikely now.

I also really wanted to go to a proper fancy black tie ball. I remember seeing my cousins when they were leaving. The handsome man in the tux (EVERY man looks handsome in a tux) and the roses and beautiful gowns. It looked so glamourous and grown up. I did get to go to a few balls and always loved the preparations.

Oh and I also REALLY wanted to get a tatoo! I never did and I'm really glad! As that butterfly / dolphin / flower would probably look daft now!

[chocolatebuttiiins]

Wear a mini skirt all through the summer. Or several different mini skirts. Or shorts*. Or a mini-dress. Because when you are older and it is no longer appropriate you will wish you had because you really did have the legs for it.

*Not ones that show half the cheeks of your arse as I saw in town the other day. Just enough to show your slim, shapely, none saggy-kneed legs.