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ChandlerHohbach
TheAdventuresofaLifetime

RalphWaldoEmersononcesaid,D
onotgowherethepathmaylead,goinsteadwherethere
isnopathandleaveatrail.Manypeopleintodayssocietyconformtothenormsanddontventureout
andexplorewhattheworldhastooffer.Everydayshouldbecelebratedbecauselifeissopreciousand
timeshouldnotbewastedbecauseitgoesbywaytooquick.DorothyParkerstated,Thecurefor
boredomiscuriosity.Thereisnocureforcuriosity.Sometimesallapersonneedsisalittlesparkin
theirlifetogetthembackontrackandfulfillingyourdreamsisonewayofseeingthatspark.Inmyown
life,therearecertainthingsthatIwouldliketoaccomplishinmylifetime.ThreeeventsthatIwantto
accomplishbeforeIdieareseeingaproductionintheSydneyOperaHouse,experienceTimesSquare
onNewYear's,andgosnorkelingintheGreatBarrierReef.
TheSydneyOperaHouseisthemostrecognizablebuildinginAustraliaandisaniconof
Australia'screativeandtechnicalachievement.Itisacclaimedasanarchitecturaliconofthe20th
century.Thearchitect,J rnUtzon,wantedtheoperahousetolooklikesailsfromayachtsoitwould
relatenaturallytotheharbor(SydneyOperaHouse,2016).Ironically,JrnUtzonwasrejectedbythree
judgesinthe1957competitiondesignfortheSydneyOperaHouse.Itwasthefourthjudgethat
declareditoutstanding.Jrnbeat232othercontestantsforthejob.In1959,Jrnand10,000other
employeesbeganworkontheoperahouse.TheSydneyOperaHouseover10,000roomandhosts
over3,000eventseachyear(Porter,L).OnJuly1,1973,theSydneyOperaHouseopeneditsdoors
tothepublicforthefirstguidedtoursandthefirstperformancewasheldonJuly28,1973.Iplanon
seeingoneoftheperformancesinthelargevenue.

SincethefirsttimeIwatched,FindingNemo,Ivealwaysbeenfascinatedwiththegorgeous
SydneyOperaHouse.Thewhite,shellshapedroofmakestheoperahouselooklikeagiantshipready
tosetsail.IplanonvisitingtheSydneyOperaHouseandattendashow.MyflighttoAustraliawillcost
$1,708andwillconsistoftwolayoversinHoustonandTokyoonthewaythereandonthewayhome.
WhenIarriveinSydney,Australia,IwillbestayingattheFourSeasonsHotelwhichwillcost$133
dollarsanightand$1,316fortheweekinwhichIwillbestaying.Duringmystayhere,Iwillnotonlybe
attendingashow,butIwillbelayingoutonthebeachandvisitingallthespecialtyshopsandbuyingreal
authenticUggs.OnJanuary20,2017,Iwillbeattendingtheplay,O
nceUponaTime.Thisspecialty
playisinteractivewiththeaudiencebecausetheyallowthegueststodressupastheirballetinspiringor
fairytaleoutfit.IwillcomedressedasCinderellabecauseitismyfavoritefairytalestoryever.Thenext
placeIwanttovisitisTimesSquareonNewYearsEve.
NewYearsEveisntonlyacelebrationinTimesSquare,butaglobaltradition.Everyeyeinthe
worldturnstoNewYorkCitysTimeSquaretoseetheiconicballdropatmidnight(NewYear'sEve
2016).ItsestimatedthatonemillionpeopleareinTimesSquareduringthetimethattheballdrops.
BillionsofpeopletuneintoTVnetworksdisplayingthealltheliveperformanceshappeningbyfamous
singersleadinguptotheballdrop.Startingin1904,NewYearsEvebegantobeahugedealtothe
peopleofNewYorkCity.Itwasthestartofnewinventionssuchasthefinishedproductionofthe
subway.Duringthistime,theyalsocelebratedtheofficialgrandopeningofthenewheadquartersofThe
NewYorkTimesin1904.TheTimesTowerisranked2ndtallestinManhattanwithfourmassivesub
basementstohelpensuretheweightofthenewprintingequipment(NewYearsEve).AteveryNew
Yearscelebration,thecitywoulddisplayamassiveamountoffireworks,butduetosafetyconcerns
theyhadtostop.Instead,ArtkraftStrauss,theTimesSquaresignmaker,lowereda700poundwood

andironballastheyearof1907endedand1908started.In1942andand1943,therewasnoball
droppedduetostrugglingwartime,butpeoplestillgatheredtheinthesquaretocelebrate(NewYears
Eve).Sincethen,theloweringoftheballhasbeenaniconicsymbolforthenewyear.Seeingtheiconic
balldropinpersonwouldbeadreamcometrue.
EveryNewYearsEveIwatchtheballdropatmidnight.Itamazesmehowmanypeople
gatherinthefrigidTimesSquareinthecoldNewYorkCity.FromwatchingtheceremonyonTV,I
noticehowhappypeopleareandhowmuchfuntheyarehaving.Iplanonattendingtheannualballdrop
sometimeinmylifewithmyclosestfriendsatthattime.WhenIattend,theflightwillcostme$622fora
roundtripasIleavefromOmaha,NebraskaandflytotheJFKAirport(Kayak).Iwillhavealayover
goingthereandcominghomeatChicagoOHareAirport.ThistimeofyearinNewYorkisextremely
popularsohotelsraisetheirpricesbecausetheyareinhighdemand.IwillbestayingattheCrowne
PlazaJFKAirportforthreenights.Foronenight,itis$218sobytheendofmystayitwillamountto
$622(Kayak).FindingahotelnearTimesSquareanditbeingreasonablypricedisverydifficultsoI
optedstayingclosetotheairport.However,itisa15miletaxirideandinthelargecityofNewYork
City,itwilltakemeonefullhourtogettomydestination.Afterthecelebration,itwillobviouslytakeme
quiteabitlongertogetbacktomyhotel.Forme,thiswillbeaonceinalifetimeopportunityso
everythingthathappenswillbeworthit.ThenextplaceIwanttoexploreistheGreatBarrierReefin
Australia.
TheGreatBarrierReefisoneofthesevenwondersoftheworld.Thereefspreadsfor1800
milesupanddowntheQueenslandCoastofAustralia.TheGreatBarrierReefsimpressivecoral
gardensshowstheworld'slargestcollectionofcoral,rays,dolphins,andover1,500differentspeciesof
fish.Alongwiththemanydifferenttypesoffish,therearealsoover200typesofbirdsand20different

typesofreptiles(AboutTheReef).TheGreatBarrierReefislargerthantheGreatWallofChinaand
canevenbeseenfromouterspace.Itssizeiscomparedto70millionfootballfieldscombined,andis
halfthesizeofthestateofTexas(FactsAbouttheGreatBarrierReef).TheGreatBarrierReefisthe
largestlivingstructureontheplanetandisincrediblyrichanddiverse.Thereefisextremelypopularfor
touristtovisitandIplanonsnorkelingintheGreatBarrierReef.
IvealwaysbeenfascinatedbytheGreatBarrierReef.Itsbeautyamazesme.Imshockedto
knowhowmanywildlifeinhabitthemselvesinthelargereefs.Sometimeinmylife,Iwanttogo
snorkelingintheGreatBarrierReefandgetaclosepictureofhowlifeworksdownthere.Aroundtrip
flighttoBrisbane,Australiais$1,948.50(Kayak).WhileImthere,IwillbestayingattheShantara
ResortinPortDouglas.Itcosts$133dollarsanightand$931fortheweekinwhichIllbestaying
(Kayak).Duringmyvisit,IwillbegoingsnorkelinginCairnswiththeCairnsDivingCompany.Iwill
departat8:30inthemorningandreturnbacktoshoreatapproximately4:30.Duringtheday,Iwillget
toexperiencethreedifferentdivesindifferentareasofthereef.Alltheequipmentandfoodwillbe
includedonthepriceof$293(DayTripsSilverswift).Thoughthepriceisratherhigh,itisworthitfora
onceinalifetimeopportunity.
SeeingaproductionintheSydneyOperaHouse,beinginTimesSquareforNewYearsEve,
andsnorkelingintheGreatBarrierreefarejustacoupleofgoalsonmybucketlistthatIwishto
completebeforeIdie.TheuniquearchitecturemakestheSydneyOperaHouseverywellknown
throughouttheworld.Withithavingover1,000rooms,itcaneasilyshowmorethan3,000
performanceseachyear.BeinginTimesSquareforNewYearsEvewouldbeadreamcometrue.The
celebrationinthesquareisknownthroughouttheworldbecausepeoplearealltherewaitingtobringin
thenewyear.TheGreatBarrierReefisabeautifulplaceonEarthandishometomanywildlife.With

snorkeling,youcangetanupcloseandpersonalviewwithwildlife.Bymakingabucketlist,peopleare
abletofulfillifelongdreamsthatdrivethemtowardsuccess.

References
AboutTheReef|WhatIsTheGreatBarrierReef?(n.d.).RetrievedDecember16,2016,from
http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/aboutthereef/
DayTrips Silverswift.(n.d.).RetrievedDecember20,2016,from
https://www.divingcairns.com.au/daytrip22
FactsAbouttheGreatBarrierReef.(n.d.).RetrievedDecember19,2016,from
http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/aboutthereef/factsaboutthegreatbarrierreef
GreatBarrierReefFactsforKids Pictures&Information.(n.d.).RetrievedDecember20,2016,from
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth/greatbarrierreef.html
KAYAKmobile freeiPhone,AndroidandBlackBerryappsonKAYAK.(n.d.).RetrievedDecember
20,2016,fromhttps://www.kayak.com/flights/OMACNS/20170314/20170321
NewYearsEve|BallDropatTimesSquare|#BallDrop.(n.d.).RetrievedDecember15,2016,from
http://www.newyearseve.nyc/nyc/index.aspx#.WFNH5tUrLnA
Porter,L.(n.d.).SydneyOperaHouse:40fascinatingfacts.RetrievedDecember18,2016,from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/oceania/australia/newsouthwales/sydney/articles/
SydneyOperaHouse40fascinatingfacts/
SydneyOperaHouse|australia.gov.au.(2016,October04).RetrievedDecember15,2016,from
http://www.australia.gov.au/aboutaustralia/australianstory/sydneyoperahouse