Every person has a different idea of what they want to do in their lifetime. No one person’s bucket list is the same as another’s, whether it’s bungee jumping off a bridge or visiting an exotic country. Last year, seniors, Bevyn Mannke ’14 and Luke Morgan ’14, decided to cross one more thing off of their bucket lists and create the Before I Die club. The Before I Die club at WFS is just one part of a huge organization that creates murals all over the world that allow anyone to write down just what they want to do before they die. Mannke and Morgan’s mission is to put a mural in downtown Wilmington.

The mural will resemble a giant chalkboard, so it can be easily erased once filled up. It will have lines and spaces for people of all ages to write down some things they want to achieve in their lifetime. Recently walls have been put up in Denmark, Asia, The Netherlands and Brazil; but no Before I Die mural has ever been put up in the small community of Wilmington. Freshman Simone Veale says, “I think the mural is a really creative way to get people to express their goals in life…and I want to go skydiving!”

Mannke was inspired to create the mural after coordinating and facilitating a service project in the Wilmington community when she was in eighth grade. Bevyn’s group for the project got involved with the William Hicks Anderson Community Center and was presented with the opportunity to design and create a mural for the center’s teen lounge. Mannke said, “This was when I fell in love with the idea of creating artwork that had the power to unite a community. Going into my senior year, I wanted to do it again. When I discovered the unique message behind the Before I Die international mural campaign, I was inspired to bring this sense of interactive connectivity to our school and to the entire Wilmington community.”

In May of last year, Mannke and Morgan brought their idea of the mural to the agenda committee, requesting 125 dollars for supplies for the mural. Business Meeting passed the proposal, and the club started meeting in the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year in Mrs. Mellow’s room. Although the club is still in its early stages, students of Wilmington Friends are already super excited to see the outcome and how it will positively effect and unite the community of Wilmington. Constanca Eiras ’14 says, “I think that the Before I Die mural is a very creative idea. How cool is it that you have a giant mural where you can draw/write anything you want? It’s just awesome.”

To many members of the community, the Before I Die mural is a symbol of diversity and acceptance. Andrew Conces ’16 says, “I think that the Before I Die mural will have a nice impact on our community. I think it is important for us to see what other people want to do in their life. I believe it will help bring the community together more.” Like Conces, many students agree that one of the highlights of the Before I Die mural is that anyone can write on it, and they can write anything they please about what they want to do before they die. However artistic the mural may be, it is also a way for members of the community to connect and share their dreams with one another, making it one-of-a-kind.

The Before I Die mural is an idea that can inspire everyone and anyone that sees it or writes on it. Mannke says, “Our committee’s ultimate goal is to bring this message of positivity to our community through the creation of our own wall by reminding each other that it’s never too late to start living.” While sharing one’s own dreams, the mural also has the potential to bring together the entire community as it has with thousands of people all around the world. Jessica Saunders ’16 says, “It’s a really cool club and such an original idea. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.” The communities of Wilmington Friends and the city of Wilmington are both extremely excited to see the finished product and hopefully get the chance to write their dreams on the Before I Die mural.