When you look in the mirror, do you ever see the little girl you once were? The one who tied her hair up in bows, who wanted to hug every animal in sight, who danced around in a little pink tutu and who kissed her parents every night before bed? Do you see the girl who got up early on Saturday mornings to watch "Scooby-Doo," the girl who pretended to be a princess, who ran home off of the bus every afternoon?
It's sometimes hard to remember how far you have come since you were that little girl. Do you ever remember her hopes and dreams, what she wanted to do and who she wanted to be? Do you make sure that you're making her proud and growing up just like she thought you would. If she looked at you right now, would she be disappointed in you?
That little girl is still in you, somewhere. Are you making her proud?
I think the hardest part about growing up is knowing that you now have to have realistic goals. You have a reality check that you won't grow up to be a mermaid, an Olympian, an actress, a superhero. You start to think that the little girl was way over her head, but was she really?
A song that I often compare to this time in my life is "Stressed Out" by Twenty-One Pilots. Why were we so fearless when we were young? I remember never being afraid of anything -- I would dive headfirst off of a high-dive into the pool, thinking that nothing could ever hurt me. I remember imagining cliff jumping, wanting to swim with stingrays, walking across a tightrope. Why when we grow older do we start to fear about anything we do or care about what people think of us? Why can't we just be who we are? When we were growing up, we thought we could be anything we wanted -- we could be an astronaut, a professional athlete, a singer, a dancer, a veterinarian. Why do we think these things are now impossible to achieve?
The thing I don't understand is why we don't bring out the little girl inside of us. Why can't we make her proud and strive for what we have always wanted to do? Yes we may fail the first few tries, but that's what makes us strong. Besides, all that little girl ever wanted is to try to be the best she could be. Why are we listening to the world that tells us we have to get a "normal" job to be successful? Why is it so obscene to aspire to do the things we wanted to as a child?
I know that dream you had as a little girl is still in you. I know because I recently discovered my dream again -- and I acted on it. It may have not been the exact results as expected, but when I do the things that I love to do, I can never wipe the smile off my face. I may have not been successful this time at my dream, but why would that stop me from trying again? I know that the younger version of me would have never given up on her dreams, no matter how many times she was told she couldn't do something. In fact, I know that it would've driven her even harder towards her goal.
Next time you look at yourself in the mirror, look for the little girl. Is she smiling at you, knowing that you were what you thought she was going to be or are you limiting yourself in some way? Would the little version of you be proud of what you are doing and where you are going? I can tell you that a few months ago, my little girl would not have been proud. She would have been upset that I thought about giving up so many times. However, several months later, I have changed my beliefs on what I can and can't do. I know that she would be proud of me because once again, I am acting out on my dreams. I'm imagining a future so amazing and so bright, and that's all she ever wanted out of me.
Yes, there are going to be bumps in the road and nothing is going to go exactly as planned, but it doesn't for anyone. No one has their life perfectly planned out. We will all fail at some point in my life, but it's what we do with those failures that makes us into what we are meant to be. If there weren't any surprises in life, then it wouldn't be as much fun -- but there's only one thing that your little girl wants from you. She wants you to make her proud. She wants you to be happy and to become what you have aspired to be. Don't give up -- remember who's watching.