CSULB students write down their bucket list items on a wall outside of Brotman Hall on the campus in Long Beach on Monday, April 22, 2019. The two-day event, part of National Healthcare Decisions Day, encourages students to think about the care they want in the event of serious injury or illness and to write down what they want to accomplish on the “Before I die….” wall. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
Publish a novel. Travel to Italy. Have no regrets.
Those are some of the goals Cal State Long Beach students hope to achieve before they die.
Dozens of students jotted down their life goals on the “Before I Die” wall in front of Brotman Hall Monday, April 22, as part of National Healthcare Decisions Day, which encourages students to think about the type of care they want in the event of serious injury or illness.
“Before I Die” is a global public art project, where folks write down on a blackboard what they want to accomplish before they die — meant to share differing perspectives on life and mortality, according to the project’s mission statement.
At Cal State Long Beach, students shared some serious and heartfelt goals, such as becoming a nurse, supporting their families and being debt free. Others were more lighthearted, such as beating someone in the video game “Super Smash Bros.”
The first wall was created on an abandoned house in New Orleans, by artist Candy Chang, after the death of someone she loved.
CSULB student Tori Buda writes down a bucket list item on a wall outside of Brotman Hall on the campus in Long Beach on Monday, April 22, 2019. Buda hopes to play soccer abroad someday. The two-day event, part of National Healthcare Decisions Day, encourages students to think about the care they want in the event of serious injury or illness and to write down what they want to accomplish on the “Before I die….” wall. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
A CSULB student write down a bucket list items on a wall outside of Brotman Hall on the campus in Long Beach on Monday, April 22, 2019. The two-day event, part of National Healthcare Decisions Day, encourages students to think about the care they want in the event of serious injury or illness and to write down what they want to accomplish on the “Before I die….” wall. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
A CSULB student looks over bucket list items on a wall outside of Brotman Hall on the campus in Long Beach on Monday, April 22, 2019. The two-day event, part of National Healthcare Decisions Day, encourages students to think about the care they want in the event of serious injury or illness and to write down what they want to accomplish on the “Before I die….” wall. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
CSULB student Isaac Unimuke writes down a bucket list item on a wall outside of Brotman Hall on the campus in Long Beach on Monday, April 22, 2019. Unimuke hopes to own a music label someday. The two-day event, part of National Healthcare Decisions Day, encourages students to think about the care they want in the event of serious injury or illness and to write down what they want to accomplish on the “Before I die….” wall. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
CSULB student Tori Buda writes down a bucket list item on a wall outside of Brotman Hall on the campus in Long Beach on Monday, April 22, 2019. Buda hopes to play soccer abroad someday. The two-day event, part of National Healthcare Decisions Day, encourages students to think about the care they want in the event of serious injury or illness and to write down what they want to accomplish on the “Before I die….” wall. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
CSULB students write down their bucket list items on a wall outside of Brotman Hall on the campus in Long Beach on Monday, April 22, 2019. The two-day event, part of National Healthcare Decisions Day, encourages students to think about the care they want in the event of serious injury or illness and to write down what they want to accomplish on the “Before I die….” wall. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)
Since then, more than 4,000 “Before I Die” walls have been created in 78 countries. Each wall is “a tribute to living an examined life,” according to the project.
The “Before I Die” wall will return to Cal State Long Beach from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 23.
Sign up for The Localist, our daily email newsletter with handpicked stories relevant to where you live. Subscribe here.
