One year ago, I was pondering whether I made the right decision in leaving my job for a new, quite different job opportunity. At the time, it was a decision that I felt unsettled about because not only was it a whole different type of role but also a whole different work culture. Now that it’s a year later and I’m no longer in that role, I’ve realized I should have seen the signs that it was not the right opportunity for me and unfortunately, I got caught up with the prospect of an increased salary and the overwhelming feeling of wanting an escape [from my previous job]. These reasons alone, I’ve learned and you too shall learn from my mistakes, are not good reasons for making decisions when it comes to your career.

A mere month (or so) ago, I had put “meet Oprah” as my Before I Die aspiration, thinking it would never, ever happen. Sure, I may have deluded myself into thinking that Oprah and I were totes going to become BFFs, or the next incarnation of a buddy cop comedy duo like Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, after she tweeted me back in October. But let’s be real, there’s us mere plebeians and there’s Oprah — these paths rarely cross.

But, the stars must have aligned because on April 13th, 2013, I did end up meeting Oprah-freakin’-Winfrey. Alas, this meeting didn’t result in her asking if she could adopt me or inviting me to a sleepover where we would braid each other’s hair and chat about cute boys (then eventually offering me a show on OWN to try out cupcakes, burgers and pizza all over the world). It was still a remarkable experience, one that I cannot put into words how awesome it was, but I will try to in this post. Weeks later, I am still in disbelief.

I’m on the precipice of a new age bracket — my thirties. I’m just going to postpone that for a few months since I’m not ready to turn 30 yet but that’s besides the point. I think this significant milestone in my life has made me think about my own mortality (also, because looking at the world, and the crazy things happening in it as of late, it’s something I think about more often).

The Before I Die project is kind of inspiring. It’s basically the idea of a bucket list but a more collaborative feel to it. So instead of doing a boring old new year’s resolution list that I know I will break in a month, I thought I’d just put together a bucket list of things I want to do before I am dead.

Yes, I realize how it may seem kind of ironic to write about a bucket list after a post about how YOLO annoys me.

My best friendship with Oprah began on September 30th, 2012 when I was watching The Next Chapter with Stephen Colbert (my other love) on OWN. It was unreal, my two favourite people, together. My head was about to explode in excitement. If you’ve ever read my About page, you’d know how big of a deal this was.

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire had its gala screening at the Toronto International Film Festival and in attendance was director Lee Daniels, actors Paula Patton, Sherri Shepherd, Mariah Carey and newcomer Gabby Sidibe, and of course, executive producers Tyler Perry and Oprah. Mary J. Blige, who wrote the song “I Can See In Color” on the movie’s soundtrack, and Sapphire, author of Push, were also in attendance for the screening. Lucky for me, I had the opportunity to not only see them on stage to introduce the film, but also watch this incredibly powerful movie before it was released into theatres nationwide. Now the winner of TIFF’s People’s Choice Award!