What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten? Where’s the best place to take a girl or woman on the first date? What is the most inspirational thing your parents taught you?

This life is full of interesting questions — and the answers can serve to encourage or inspire others on their journey.

That’s precisely why The Royal Gazette’s Lifestyle section is looking to ask a new question each week — from the lighthearted to the profound — and hear what our readers have to say.

For this week, we decided to poll some of our contacts to find out: What’s one thing you want to accomplish or do before you die? We suggested it could be anything from meeting a celebrity like Oprah Winfrey or conquering Mount Kilimanjaro. Here’s what the people we spoke with had to say:

Artist Ami Zanders said it would be a dream come true to dive and get up close and personal with some of the world’s most feared underwater creatures.

“I would have to say that being in a shark cage with great white sharks swarming around me would be at the top of my list of things to do before I die,” Ms Zanders said.

“I blame the movies ‘Jaws’ and ‘Jaws II’ for that. I have a secret fear of jumping off rocks, boats and old barges. And I always thought that a massive great white shark would suddenly open it’s big mouth while I’d be in mid air and swallow me whole. They are such beautiful, powerful, forces of nature. What an honour it would be to just observe them and hopefully get over my fear at the same time.”

Taking part in an ultra-marathon tops the list for mother and primary schoolteacher Anne Kermode.

Mrs Kermode said: “One thing I would love to do before I die is the Western States 100. This is an ultra marathon that traverses mountains and canyons in California.

“It’s a race of extremes, as the temperatures vary massively and the whole trail is 100 miles of challenging, rocky ascent and descent. To earn a ‘buckle’, an ultra marathoner’s medal, runners have to complete the race in 30 hours.

“The race is hard to get into, so my alternatives are Comrades Marathon (56 miles in South Africa) or Badwater (135 miles in Death Valley).” She said endurance events were a great way to build strong friendships, see the world and find out what a person is capable of.

Graphic designer and event coordinator Cushi Ming said he wants to be able to “achieve greatness” and “leave a legacy” before he dies.

“I pride myself as being a positive role model among my friends and I believe that I possess an unusual perspective which allows me to give respectable advice,” he said.

He wants to soak up all the knowledge he can about life while he’s alive and use that information to help others and become a role model, particularly for young black men.

Kimberley Caines, President of Bermuda Toastmasters, said two goals that make it to the top of her bucket list are to “fulfil the purpose for which I was put on earth” and “start a family to continue my family’s ancestral legacy and history”.

Singer Mia Page Chambray said performing on a big stage in front of thousands of music lovers.

“Before I die I’d like to headline at Glastonbury,” she said. “And be invited to play on the Jools Holland show [a popular music-based show aired on the British Broadcasting Company]!”

Having a room designated for just writing would make communications manager Carlita Lodge one happy lady. She said: “I’ve always thought that Virginia Woolf had it right, I’d like a bit of money, and a room of my own to write great fiction. With Bermuda’s real estate market the way that it is, I better keep saving.”

Michelle Smith, a Sales and Events Coordinator at the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, said she hopes to travel to different parts of the globe before she gets older.

“One thing that I would like to do before I die is to visit the Far East: United Arab Emirates, China, Japan and Korea,” she said. “The main reasons would be for the architecture, advanced technology and differing fashions that each of these countries have to offer.”