Who were you before the world told you who you should be? Before we had these preconceived notions of who we were supposed to be. Before being a ballerina, princess, or astronaut became an impossible feat. Society tells children to “follow their dreams” through messages in films, literature, etc. and then punishes them for not choosing safe, money-making careers in adulthood.
I think when we’re young we’re exposed to this fantasy of what life is like. We’re under the impression that we can be whatever we want to be and whoever we want to be, and that someday we’ll change the world.
“You can be anything you want to be.”
“Follow your dreams.”
We have this fantasy for a while, and then reality hits us like a brick, and it shatters every concept of life that we’ve been told. Someone or something comes along and tells us that we can’t. And for some reason we believe them. The truth comes out about the Easter Bunny and Santa, and we stop aspiring to be astronauts, princesses, and ballerinas. We stop aspiring to be great. And we settle.
We form and change into the kind of people that we think we’re supposed to be. We put our wants and our needs aside so we can focus on the wants and needs of others. And everything we thought when we were younger becomes an illusion. It becomes a thing of the past. Now it’s nothing more than a brief thought. Because at some point someone told us that our dreams and our ambitions were unrealistic and unachievable. And for some reason, we listened. We became defeated, and we didn’t want to disappoint those around us. We didn’t want to strive for something bigger than us and fail.
“It’s just the logical decision.” Because most aspiring musicians, actors, and dancers don’t get their big shot. They don’t make it big and make millions. They don’t get to perform on the biggest stage in the world. “It’s just too risky.” So we stop taking the risks and we don’t take that leap of faith. When did this become the motivation for our lives? When did this become the deciding factor on whether or not we were going to follow our dreams? When did we stop considering happiness and contentment and settle for mediocrity.
We should do things that we love, and we should do things that we’re passionate about. We’re supposed to wake up every morning and be inspired. Waking up 40 years later being angry, bitter, and full of regret isn’t worth it. It isn’t worth telling yourself that you can’t do it. Or wondering what would’ve happened if you had.
We lose sight of what’s important. Imagine you’re four years old again. Or 18 years old again. Who do you want to be? When did we stop aspiring to be ballerinas and princesses?
