Every time I watch "Cinderella" (I've only seen it twice, before the age of 5) and Cinderella sings "A dream is a wish your heart makes", I get a serious case of the giggles.
For one, woodland animals shouldn't wear pastel outfits. Secondly, Cinderella says a dream is a wish you heart makes when you're fast asleep, but this can't possibly be the case for me because I have the weirdest dreams—comically and critically weird.
Have you ever dreamed you had magic set of markers and people lined up to have their mustaches drawn by you? I hope you've never had the displeasure of dreaming of being dragged by a Zamboni. The only dream I can think of that I actually want to happen, is to be the Princess of Genovia, "King Rupert, may he rest in peace".
*shudder*
When I think about the word "dream." I take a completely different route. For me, a dream is the equivalent of a goal. As a goal-oriented person, it's impossible for me to accomplish anything without setting one. Sometimes I have to tell myself that I get to eat a peanut butter M&M only if I finish reading a paragraph in one of my textbooks. I have no shame.
I used to think my goals were too big and unrealistic, or that I had too many. Not many people can say they want to work for the "Ellen" show, start a nonprofit, be the crazy girl on "The Bachelor," live in India, Spain or Argentina, own a franchise of Scooter's coffeehouses, write a sci-fi trilogy, write an album for Shakira, direct a TV series, meet J.K. Rowling and Julie Andrews, steal Zooey Deschanel's role on "New Girl," sing on stage with Coldplay and be a contestant on "Shark Tank," all in one life time.
Honestly, most of that is pretty unrealistic because I have the creativity of a spoon, so I will never be on "Shark Tank," and J.K. Rowling is probably off building an actual Hogwarts that I'll be attending in the near future.
It's OK to fail. If you try your hardest but still don't reach your goal, this doesn't mean you were unsuccessful. Yeah, to fall just short of something you worked so hard for kicks can, but it means you know what it takes for the next time around.
Also, so what if you have some of the most unrealistic, borderline laughable, never-going-to-happen dreams. Chances are they aren't as crazy as you think they are and—really—you're a rock star for dreaming those up in the first place.
So lace up your sandals, put on your confident underwear, eat a bowl of Greek yogurt and go set some goals to, like Cinderella, make your dreams come true.
*mic drop*
*realized I dropped mic, so scurries to pick it up*