This here is a list of experiences without which I would be gutted to leave this world. I don’t think it will ever be complete or completed. Doability is a factor. Space travel holds little appeal and let’s face it, the cover of Vogue Italia is also out of reach. Other than that, the sky is the limit.

See the Manhattan skyline from the observation deck of the Empire State Building. (July 2010) 

Translate a book or at least a story.

Have a proper espresso at an Italian caffèteria.   (February 2012)

See Jill Scott perform live. (4 December 2011, 9 July 2012)

Read all there is to read by Truman Capote.

Study English at the University of Warsaw. (2007-2012)

Drink coconut water directly from a fresh coconut. (February 2019)

Publish an article online. (May 2015)

Publish an article in print. (March 2019)

Become fluent in at least three foreign languages.

Take part in a student exchange programme. (September – December 2010)

Sleep under the stars. (August 2016)

Set foot on every visitable continent.

Try crème brûlée in France. (August 2012)

Go on a cruelty-free safari. Binoculars in hand. Dressed in khaki.

Enjpy a salad without lusting after a burger. (July 2010)

Visit a desert island. (Vardiani, October 2019)

Get a gym membership and actually use it. (January 2011)

Attend Glasto or other proper music festival. Bonus points for sleeping in a tent and wearing wellies. (July 2015, July 2023, July 2024, July 2025)

Drink pernod in Paris like the Lost Generation.

Visit Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul in Mexico City. (December 2008)

Find a rooftop to sit on in Lisbon and enjoy the sunset. (July 2011)

Go sightseeing in my own city. (May 2011)

Listen to jazz in New Orleans.

Take a nighttime walk in Barcelona. (September 2014)

Have a signature dish. (2020)

See a Broadway musical. (July 2010)

Lay my eyes on Venus of Willendorf. (June 2022)

Visit Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Room. (June 2019, August 2021, May 2022, August 2025)

Watch at least 50 feminist documentaries. (2025)

Learn to say hello in 20 languages. (April 2019)

Complete my M.A. thesis and earn a degree. (June 2012)

Challenge myself to eat something I consider vomit-inducing. (June 2011)

Be a maid of honour. (July 2014)

See Michelangelo’s David with my own eyes. (February 2012, February 2022)

Invest in art. (November 2015)

Jump into a pool fully-clothed.

Holiday in the Cyclades. (September-October 2020)

Get drunk on Cosmopolitans in Manhattan. (July 2010)

Start a feminist book club in Warsaw. (May 2017)

Go cold-water swimming and not die. (Estonia, November 2023)

Visit Iceland’s black sand beach. (November 2024)

Fly first class on a long-haul flight. (December 2008)

Take a mud bath. (Xi Beach, September 2019)

See Mount Kilimanjaro.

Watch Hannah Gadsby perform live. (Berlin, November 2022)

Be in two places at the same time.

Retrace the footsteps of Jesse and Celine from the Before trilogy (Vienna, June and December 2022)

See at least 50 cinema classics.

See a Banksy in person. (November 2010, April 2014)

Have my own Christmas traditions. (Butter biscuits & puzzles, December 2019)

See Big Ben illuminated at night. (September 2008)

Go to a yoga class and not sneak out halfway through. (January 2017)

Travel Europe by train. (August 2012)

Go on a roadtrip across Europe.

See Adele perform live.  (May 2016)

Go to the opera.

Dive in a submarine.

Survive a rollercoaster ride. Bonus points for genuine enjoyment. (September 2010)

Have a caipirinha in Brazil.

Ride in a vintage car in Havana.  (February 2019)

Take a boat holiday.

Have a thoroughly vegan meal. (January 2013)

Eat something I’ve grown myself.

Study abroad in the UK. (September – December 2010)

See puffins in their natural habitat.

Ride a camel in the Sahara. (December 2007)

Visit a vineyard. (Kefalonia, September 2019, Santorini, 2020)

Have a tiramisu in Italy. (February 2012)

See at least 20 iconic paintings. (June 2019)

Watch Lily Allen perform live. (August 2007, July 2009, March 2010)

Get married (but not necessarily stay married).

Visit a nudist beach. (Calo d’es Monjo, Mallorca, August 2020, Fuerteventura, September 2021)

Go skinny-dipping in an exotic location. (Fuerteventura, September 2021)

Travel on the Eurostar (February 2012)

Take a Eurostar trip from London to Paris.

Fly on a jumbo jet.

Go vegan for at least a month. (July 2018)

Have a professional massage. (December 2016)

Have a travelling job. (2021)

Sit on the top floor of a double decker bus in the UK. (July 2004)

Visit an active volcano. Preferbaly Mt. Etna. (November 2005)

See the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. (December 2008)

Be a spectator at La Scala.

Get drunk on sangria in Spain. (September 2014)

Go blonde (2020)

Row on Central Park Lake. (July 2010)

Complete the 100-day-project.

See Stonehenge. (July 2012)

Donate to charity on a monthly basis. July 2019

Get involved in a charity or even start one.

Ride in a hot air balloon (bonus points if it’s in Cappadocia).

Taste macarons in Paris. (November 2021)

Meet Roxane Gay, my literary idol. (December 2018)

Celebrate Bonfire Night in Britain. (2010)

Share a kiss on New Year’s Eve. (2020)

See Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia.

Visit a red sand beach. (Kefalonia, 2019, Santorini, 2020)

Have a warm, tropical Christmas. (2007, 2008)

Go solo to the cinema and genuinely enjoy myself.(December 2008)

Hail a yellowcab in NYC. (July 2010)

Fly in a helicopter.

Have one of those overhyped pizzas at Da Michele in Napoli. (October 2025)

Try fondue in Switzerland.

Get a substantial payrise.  (April 2016)

Make perfect coffee. (September 2018)

Watch a concert from backstage.

Stroll through the Red Light District in Amsterdam. (August 2012)

Have an actual picnic with an actual picnic basket! . (August 2017)

Admire Gaudi’s modernism in Barcelona. (September 2014)

See the Statue of Liberty. (July 2010)

Treat myself to a spa day. (Sky Lagoon, Iceland, November 2024)

Have a getaway Friend-mas. (December 2023)

Ride a gondola in Venice.

Cross a rope bridge.

Have chips and a pint of beer in Belgium. (August 2012)

Have a conversation in Italian in Italy. (February 2012)

Have my make-up done professionally. (July 2014)

Visit Machu Picchu.

Hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa for the laughs.  (February 2012, March 2022)

Go on a canal cruise in Amsterdam. (August 2012)

Get a tattoo.  (May 2007)

Write a book or at least a story.

Officiate a wedding.

Visit festive markets in Vienna (December, 2022)

See Niagara Falls  (January 2009)

Read only female writers for a year. (2017)

See the Egyptian pyramides. (December 1994?)

Set foot in at least 20 British cities.

Get an award.

Bake or eat edibles. (June 2019)

See Beyonce perform live.  (June 2018, June 2023)

Live in student halls. (2010)

Survive a three-day booze bender.  (October 2010)

Try Swiss chocolate in Switzerland. (April 2023)

Go to a drive-in movie.

Go on a romantic getaway. (Kefalonia, September 2019)

Visit NYC’s Museum of Modern Art. (July 2010)

Be in a music video. (December 2018)

Taste mochi ice cream in Japan.

Go fruit-picking and have a picnic among the orchards.

Write a poem.  (October 2010 – forced, January 2024 – unforced)

Take part in a wine-tasting. (Pessada, September 2019)

See a performance at London’s Donmare Warehouse. (June 2015)

Get a driving license.  (June 2010)

Dance my ass off at Pride.  (June 2017)

Escape the civilisation for a bit.

See kilt-clad bagpipe players in Scotland.  (July 2009)

Throw a hen night. (June 2014)

Have burrata and focaccia in Puglia. (August 2021)

Try fried ice cream.  (August 2017)

Pay for my own stay at a five-star resort.

See the Norwegian fjords. (Troms, November 2025)

See a fado performance in Lisbon.  (July 2011)

Have fish and chips and a pint of lager in a proper British pub. (February 2009)

Perform on stage.

Dance wildly in Ibiza, preferably dressed in white.

See a wild animal outside the bloody zoo. (Deer outside Copenhagen, August 2025)

Take a picture in a retro analogue photobooth. (May 2019)

Soak up the sun on some ridiculously exotic island.

Have rainbow hair. (2017)

Take part in a proper pyjama party.

See the Monte Carlo casino. (August 2012)

See the Great Wall of China.

Walk the Camino del Rey.

Dine at a lush restaurant.  (February 2009)

Visit 2120 South Michigan Avenue and experience the Chicago blues.  (December 2008)

See the Victoria Falls.

Organize creative workshops for women. (June 2017)

Hitch-hike around an island. (Kefalonia, Sept.-Oct. 2019)

Have a proper collection of favourite books.  (October 2008)

Visit Bath, England. (July 2012)

See the Sistine Chapel. (September 2017)

Watch all Mike Leigh films.

Have a professional photoshoot.

Try meditation in the East.

Watch the sunset in the Sahara.  (December 2007)

See the Colosseum. (October 2013)

See the white cliffs of Dover.

Celebrate Labour Day attending street parties in Berlin. (May 2018)

Have a piercing.  (July 2008)

Swim in the Caribbean Sea. (February 2019)

Visit Jerusalem.  (February 2010)

Watch a film at an outdoor cinema. (June 2014)

Drag it up.

Have a matcha latte. (February, 2016)

Go vegetarian for 30 consecutive days. (2015)

Get drunk on Tuscan wine in Florence. (February 2012)

Be a godmother.  (September 2007)

See Marina Diamandis play live. (October 2010)

Visit at least 20 major cities in Poland.

Go on a ferry cruise from Spain to Morrocco.

Properly attend a film festival (AFF, November, 2016)

Order room service. On a whim! (June 2024)

See the Pre-`Raphaelites. (November 2010)

Sleep on the top bunk bed at a hostel.  (July 2010)

Eat mussels.  (July 2011)

Eat mussels on their own. (August 2012)

Spend a shamelessly lazy week in Maldives.

Have a vodka shot and pickled herring.  (June 2011)

Do a juice cleanse, no matter how silly it is.  (April 2018)

Travel for over a month non-stop.

Attend a feminist protest. (March 2016)

See Hozier live. (Stockholm, November 2023, Gdynia, July 2024)

Spend a couple of dreamy days in Cornwall.

Visit a non-colonial plantation.

See Aurora Borealis with my own eyes. (Iceland, November 2024; Norway, November 2025)

Visit a pink sand beach. (Elafonisi & Balos, June 2024)

Shower under a waterfall.

Eat New York-style pizza and cheesecake in NYC.   (July 2010)

Swim in an underground river.  (December 2008)

Ride in a rickshaw. (February 2019)

Visit El Prado.

Go au naturel for a month. No shaving permitted! (November 2019)

Guide a tour. (July 2012)

Participate in a pub quiz. (July 2009)

Visit Lake Como in the summertime. (September 2015)

Try Guinness in Dublin. (November 2010)

Have oeufs au plat for breakfast in French Riviera like a Hemigway heroine. (August 2012)

Watch the Perseid meteor shower. (August 2016)

Experience unlawful pleasure in Jamaica. AHAHAHA!

See the canyons of Sardinia.

Go to a beanbag cinema. (Tallinn, November 2023)

Read The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank. (May 2012)

Buy something at a flee market  (July 2011)

Sleep in the hay.

Move to my own place. (February 2018)

Experience polar nights.

Attend a concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

Swim in a proper fancy infinity pool. (Reykjavik, November 2024)

Try a genuine gelato in Italy. (August 2012)

Ride on the tallest swing ride in the world. (March 2013)

Have an impressive collection of mugs. (December 2014)

Have a roadtrip in a rental car in a foreign country. (Fuerteventura, September 2021, Iceland, November 2024)

Visit Cape Town.

Visit a crystal cave.

Walk the empty streets of Rome at dawn – La Dolce Vita style (March 2023)

See a Pride Parade. (August 2005)

Try dulce de leche in South America.

Eat figs straight from the tree. (Milos, September, 2020)

Have a sauna experience in Finland.

Eat pancakes with maple syroup in the U.S.A.  (December 2008)

Go island hopping on a speedboat in the Cyclades.

Bake cookies for Christmas. (December 2018)

Have a beach fire at night.

Try semla, cardamom buns and veggie meatballs in Sweden. (Stockholm, November 2023)

Go on holiday on my own.

Taste stir-fried chestnuts.

Get baked in Amsterdam. (August 2012)

Try nude sunbathing. (Fuerteventura 2021)

Throw a coin in the Fontana Di Trevi. (October 2013)

Smoke a cigar. (August 2017)

Have tapas in Spain. (September 2014)

Speak English with a British accent. (roughly 2006)

Jump off a boat into the sea and not die. (Vardiani, October 2019)

Cross the Charles Bridge in Prague. (March 2013, October 2021)

Decorate my own flat.  (2018)

See a West End musical. (July 2012)

Live in a stilt house. Even just for a bit.

Read 50 books in a year. (2018)

Ride a bike in Copenhagen. (August, 2025)

Try apple strudel and viennese coffee in a traditional Wiener Kaffehaus. (March 2013)

See the Dutch windmills. (August 2012)

Attend Cannes Film Festival (2021, 2023, 2024)

See a lavender field in bloom in Provence.

Visit a brewery in Prague. (April 2013)

See the French calanques. (August 2012)

Be in Scandinavia for midsommar.

See the Diamond Beach in Iceland.

Spend a day at Sarakiniko Beach (September, 2020)

Smoke hash in Christiania. (February 2014)

See staples of art nouveau. (March – April 2013)

Be in therapy long enough to see real improvement. (2023, 2024)

Travel in the Balkans.

Get my mom flowers for no reason. (2014)

Learn to rollerblade or rollerskate properly.

Get promoted. (December 2015)

Do sports on a daily basis.

Get paid to go abroad. (June 2013)

Drive the Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland.

Go ice skating in London.

Piece together a massive jigsaw puzzle. (December 2019)

Fast for 24 hours, drinking only water and eating absolutely nothing.

See Paul Mescal perform on stage. (A Streetcar Named Desire, London, February 2025)

Go to a world-famous party.

Write a letter to myself to read in 10 years.

Throw a theme party.

Camp out after a concert to meet the band. (March 2013: Mumford and Sons, April 2013: Ellie Goulding)

Get a bonus at work. (June 2013)

Have a singing lesson.

Visit Ronda, Spain.

Visit at least 10 of the most famous museums in the world. (2021)

Experience midnight sun.

Visit Auschwitz. (February 2004)

Participate in a treasure hunt as an adult.

Walk through a bamboo forest.

Try retsina in Greece. (September 2019)

Attend a same sex wedding ceremony.

See the neon signs at the Neon Museum in Warsaw. (June 2014)

Make hummus from scratch. (April 2016)

Watch at least 365 films in a year. (December 2024)

Read my way through the feminist canon.

Sneak into a club (as a minor). (July 2006)

Read Maus. (February 2010)

Visit the Poster Museum in Warsaw. (January 2014)

Get drunk at (the closest I can get to) a speakeasy. (Warsaw during lockdown, January 2021)

See a Fabergé egg.

Take a slow ride train through the Swiss Alps.

Soak in the Blue Lagoon. (November 2024)

Go sledding as an adult.

Visit Santorini, Greece. (August 2001, October 2021)

Teach a class.

See dolphins in the wild.

See snow on the beach. (February 2021)

Take a week-long technology hiatus.

See a crocus field in the Tatras. (May 2021)

Drink a piña colada in Cuba. (February 2019)

Take a road trip around the Scottish Highlands.

Go couchsurfing. (July 2009)

Leave a hefty tip for excellent service. (2020)

Eat outside my comfort zone.

Organize a fat hike for my friends.

Watch lava flow from an active volcano.

Ride a cable car in San Francisco.

Spontaneously jump on a train and travel to a different city. (Łódź 2021)

Visit Matera. (October 2023)

Go whale-watching. (Arctic, November 2025)

Participate in a protest. (December 2016)

Cook a three-course meal for a loved one.

Have a proper posh high tea experience, haha!

Meet and befriend artists I admire. (FF – 2021, MN – 2023)

Take a cooking class. (October 2013)

Try churros in Spain. (September 2014)

Try savoury ice cream. (July 2014)

Buy a same day plane ticket.

Visit the Louisiana Museum in Denmark. (August, 2025)

Make traditional Polish dishes like pierogi and/or bigos for Christmas. (December 2014)

Visit all European countries.

See a corpse flower in bloom. (August 2025)

See Lauryn Hill in concert. (August 2019)

Dye my hair a bright hue. (June 2015)

Relax in a hot spring. (Iceland, November 2024)

Contribute to a film festival’s programme.

Meet and have a conversation with Mike Leigh. (October 2013)

Interact with art on a regular basis. (2013)

Master soup-making. (2021)

Visit the Cotswolds. (April 2014)

See Imelda Staunton perform on stage. (April 2014, March 2017)

Swim with bioluminescent plankton in a tropical bay.

Marvel at the Sagrada Familia. (September 2014)

Explore Morocco’s Blue City.

Read Leopold Tyrmand’s Zły. (September 2014)

Try a deep-fried Mars bar.

Experience freefall.  (August 2014)

Translate for the theatre.

Walk through the flower field in full bloom.

Attend a Richard Linklater film premiere. (Blue Moon, Berlinale 2025)

Travel to New Zealand.

Have a snow campfire.

Visit Cinque Terre. (September 2015)

Spend all day on scary rides. (August 2014)

Have a Turkish buffet breakfast in Istanbul.

Ride a merry go round. (December 2010)

Attend Berlinale. (2023, 2024)

Rope swing into water.

See Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire performed on stage in English. (August 2014)

Quit smoking. (October 2014, September 2022)

Hike in the mountains and enjoy it. (May 2021)

Stargaze in some great location.

Travel with my mum (as an adult). (Rome, September 2017)

Drink beer and enjoy it. (November 2014)

Get paid to write. (May 2015)

Do things even when I have no one to do them with.

Travel abroad for a day. (Bergamo, December 2015)

Live for a bit in a remote village somewhere, doing nothing but writing and interacting with the locals.

Travel to the Arctic Circle. (November 2025)

Experience silent disco. (September 2015)

Visit La Muralla Roja.

Spend the night on the beach.

Step into an ice cave.

Do a road-trip in Iceland. (November 2024)

See a Nick Payne play premiere in London. (June 2016)

Commit to 24 hour silence.

Visit Brick Lane. (February 2016)

Jump on a proper trampoline. (July 2016)

Go up the Shard.

Volunteer at a feminist NGO.

Properly live in the UK for at least 12 consecutive months. And I mean live. No return tickets!

Go to Palestine. (2010)

See a Basquiat exhibition. (Vienna, December 2022)

Attend a foreign literary festival. (Lousiana Literature, August 2025)

Write every day for a month and see what comes out of it.

Live solely on home-cooked meals for a month.

Spend the summer riding through the city on my bike. (2018)

Camp in the Canadian wilderness.

See Sally Rooney speak. Bonus points for also speaking to Sally Rooney (August, 2025)

Read under the cherry blossoms in Tokyo during hanami season.

Go on a glamourous work trip. (February 2018)

Travel to Korea and stuff my face with vegan bulgogi and bi bim bap.

Try snorkelling. (Cuba, February 2019, for about 30 seconds)

Decorate the Christmas tree in my own home. (December 2018)

Write a love letter. 

Create a feminist reading challenge for my friends.

Start a female gaze film club. (Kino Kobiet, Amondo, October 2024)

Visit the Shakespeare & Company bookshop in Paris. (November 2021)

Do the “36 question to Fall in Love” challenge.

Get Zadie Smith to autograph one of her books. (June 2015)

Grow a plant.

Sleep in a treehouse.

Learn the basics of Arabic. 

Visit the Barbican Conservatory. (Februrary 2025)

Experience the Edinburgh Fringe.

Fund a feminist scholarship or award (when I’m rich).

Get an annual pass to the botanic garden and visit it regularly across the seasons. (2022)

Attend a Georgia O’Keeffe exhibtion. (November 2021)

Adopt a dog. (November 2018)

Attend an Ólafur Arnalds concert. (October 2018)

Meet an Oscar winner. (Daniel Kaluuya, June 2016)

See Lizzo in concert. (July 2023)

See a proper Nan Goldin retrospective.

Step on a red-carpet. (Cannes Film Festival, July 2021)

Try veggie street food in Thailand.

See Angels in America performed live. (London, May 2017)

Try knafeh in the Middle East.

Host a dinner party.

Move abroad.

Experience the skywalk.

Visit Artipelag in Varmdo Island. (November 2023)

Visit a marble beach. (Thassos, September 2022)

Party at a museum. (Turin, October, 2024)

Visit a feminist bookshop. (She Said, Berlin, February 2024)

Visit the art islands in Japan.

Attend Venice Film Festival.

Organize a book-swap event. (FKK Birthday, June 2025)

Take the cable car down to Dubrovnik’s Old Town. (June 2025)

Stroll through the Dark Hedges in Northern Ireland.

Try kobido massage. (March 2025)

Watch a film in 35mm at the Metograph, New York.

Have a full conversation in Italian.

Attend a film festival in a remote location.

See a glowworm cave.

Walk that super long suspension bridge in Switzerland.

Travel to a place where two tectonic plates meet.

Visit an underwater museum.

Walk Olafur Eliasson’s Circle Bridge.

Watch a Mike Leigh film in a London cinema. (Hard Truths, February 2025)

Go clubbing in Berlin.

Go to a Saint Levant gig.

See Caravaggio’s Judith.

Visit Legzira Beach in Morocco.