( CNN ) -- Cindy Haynes was 42 when she made her decision . All of her life she had been a wife and a mom . Now her kids were growing up ; her divorce was being finalized , and she had just landed her first real job . Lauren Hetrovicz , 21 , stands across the river from the Eiffel Tower in Paris , France . `` I decided that there were two groups of people in life , '' Haynes said . `` Those people who went out and did and do , and those who dream about it and never really accomplish anything . I decided to be a doer . '' Now 47 , Haynes has backpacked through Europe -- three times . She 's been to the top of Machu Picchu in Peru . She 's gone to China , New York City and a Yankees game . She has sung at the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool where the Beatles first met their manager , and she 's seen the Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska . `` I do n't want to get to my dying breath and wish I had done something , '' Haynes said . `` I want to get to my dying breath and say ' I did it . I overcame it . I became it . ' No regrets . '' The recent death of Dave Freeman , co-author of `` 100 Things to Do Before You Die , '' after hitting his head in a fall prompted iReport.com to ask users about places they do n't want to miss . Freeman visited about half the places on his list , his relatives told The Associated Press . Haynes is one of a number of iReporters who has ambitious travel dreams . She and others have taken cues from `` The Bucket List , '' a 2007 movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman as terminally ill cancer patients who set off to achieve their lists of dreams before they die . These iReporters are writing down places they want to go and are starting to plan how to get there . Their `` things to do before I die '' lists can include anything from watching more sunsets to climbing Mount Everest . See photos from iReporters ' `` Bucket List '' trips » . `` If you put your dreams and goals on paper and try to plan to accomplish them , you can make them a reality , '' said Eric Shoen , a 31-year-old from Rochester , New York . Shoen meets with a friend once a year to rewrite their bucket lists -- crossing off things they 've accomplished and adding new ones . His travels have included the Grand Canyon in Arizona , Madrid and Barcelona in Spain and an economy bus tour through Italy ( gelato included , of course ! ) . `` I take one day at a time , '' Shoen said . `` If I die tomorrow , I hope people will say that I lived a full life and had fun doing it . '' If someone had died on the Liston family 's most recent trip , they would have had to bury the body and come back for it later , TJ Liston said . The 48-year-old coach from Lynchburg , Virginia , took his wife , son , daughter , nephew and son 's girlfriend on a 10-day canoe trip in Labrador , Canada . All six joined a cook and a guide for a journey where humans rarely travel -- one that even the guide had n't been on in 10 years . `` There are n't very many places in the world where you 're going to go that are completely isolated and remote and still pristine , '' Liston said . `` It 's the same kind of [ area ] the Indians went through 300 to 400 years ago . '' While Lauren Hetrovicz often sticks more to tropical climates than the frozen tundra , she 's been more places in her 21 years of life than most people see in a lifetime . The recent college graduate has `` walked along the Great Wall of China , looked upon Paris from the height of the Eiffel Tower , horseback rode to an exploding volcano , saw the Christmas festival in Munich , Germany , gazed upon the Acropolis and the Parthenon in Athens , Greece , then kissed the Blarney Stone for luck near Cork , Ireland . '' And that 's not even half of it . Hetrovicz studied abroad in four countries -- India , China , Costa Rica and Italy -- through her father 's generosity and a few scholarships . The Illinois native encourages everyone to broaden their international perspective . `` You 'll come back , most definitely , as a different person , '' Hetrovicz said . `` I would say , dump the budget and travel to your dream destination because each day will pass and the opportunity will slip from your hands . ''
People around the country are creating their own ` ` ' Lists '' which can mean anything from ` ` See more sunsets '' to ` ` Climb Mount Everest '' TJ Liston took his family on a 10-day canoe trip in Labrador , Canada . Mike Shoen worked with a friend to create his bucket list each year .