Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Break Free and Dream

We all have dreams, secretly stowed away, waiting to be fulfilled.

When I was little, I dreamed of being a singer, dancer, or even a writer.


Yep. That was me twirling around the house in tutus, singing at the top of my lungs. Or hidden in some cramped corner writing silly poems about dolls and mapping out imaginary worlds.

Then one day I realized a couple of things:
1. I didn't want to leave my family and go to ballet boarding school in New York (yes, I very nearly did).
2. I could sing (for my family).
3. And I could write (crap that is).

So I gave it all up. All of it, and I did different stuff. Like piano and rock climbing. But deep in my heart of hearts, I still loved to dance, secretly sang in the shower and daydreamed up imaginary worlds.

One of those dreams came true for me a while back when I took the plunge and auditioned for characters at Disney World. I ended up dancing in their castle show for a number of years before moving overseas. It was an amazing experience, but I would never have done it if I'd allowed myself to believe I wasn't good enough.

And then after that was over, I started thinking about that other dream I had. Writing. I sucked at it. Big time. But the love and passion were still there, deep inside me, aching to come out.

So I took the plunge and started writing again. It was hard and it still is. But I'm ready to learn. I'm ready to take on new challenges.

There's something to remember about dreams:
1. You must be willing to do what it takes.
2. If you want MORE, you have to get up and MOVE.
3. Don't stay stuck in your old patterns.
4. Write those dreams down, stick them on the walls, remind yourself why.

What must you change to make those dreams reality? Make your list. I've made mine. And I'm chasing them.

Tonight, wish upon your star.

15 comments:

Kate Fall said...

I love that question: what must you change to make your dreams reality? I find myself working on this more and more lately.

Karen Jones Gowen said...

Hooray for chasing dreams!! What an awesome post, it cheered me up!

Karen Strong said...

Love this! The thing about dreams is that is never too late to chase them. It all starts with one step: Writing it down.

Kimbra Kasch said...

Life would be empty without dreams :)

Andrea Mack said...

Awesome post, Christy! Whenever I'm feeling a little down about pursuing my writing dream (because it is hard!), there are you and the other MiGs to inspire and cheer me on. But you're right, to follow a dream it often means you need to change something or take a risk.

Stina said...

I love this post.

That was a great dream about being a character at Disney World. Although if I had auditioned, Mickey would have dragged me off stage with a hook. :D

Marcia said...

Very wise words. Things we try to do in place of our real dreams really don't satisfy. We just have to realize when dreaming isn't enough, and then DO.

Bish Denham said...

You were a dancing Disney character? Far out! Such a beautiful post. And...without dreams the world, our lives, would be rather dull. Despite it all, I keep working towards mine, else I would probably go mad.

Christina Farley said...

Thanks guys! I'm glad you liked the post. Yes, I was a Disney character, still do it from time to time. :-)

Danyelle L. said...

This is a beautiful post, Christina. I love that even though you put your dreams on the shelves for a time, you came back to them. (Being a Disney character would be awesome!)

Especially loved the part that if you want more, you have to give more. Excellently put. :)

Rena Jones said...

What a fantastic post, Christina. I think, as adults, we too easily give up our childhood dreams. Some might have been unrealistic, but not all of them, just like you've shown here.

Never give up dreaming!

Golden Eagle said...

Great post!

I love the list.

Ruth Schiffmann said...

Love this post. Thanks for the pep talk =D

Stephanie Theban said...

This is a great post. You can't achieve dreams by sitting around and thinking about it. And you have to decide where to focus efforts.

Christina Farley said...

Danyelle- thank you! I'm so glad!

Rena- so true. I think it might be because we're so focused on helping others, like our children or for me my students too.

Inlovewithwords- yay for pep talks!

Stephanie- you are right! It's important to keep focused.