chasing your dreams

You Have Three Wishes by bladebandit

Is chasing our dreams overrated or underrated? Many people have dreams when they're younger, but 99% of us do not actually realise those dreams of our childhood. Granted, people do change, and I would like to say that most people go on to do the things they love, but that's just not the case from my own experience. This has caused me to think cautiously about how I should look at things. On one hand it's important, especially in our world, to think about the realistic boundaries of our dreams. Money is important, which is why it's one of the factors that people take into account when deciding what to do with their lives. It's highly idealistic that everyone could live a happy life if they just do what they love. However, I also find it a terribly bleak and pessimistic view to say that dreams are worthless and that we should all do whatever reaps the most materialistic benefits.

I speak from the perspective of someone who doesn't really know what she wants, has no real passions or particularly strong dreams. There are things I enjoy, but I am willing to sacrifice them if need be. I suppose in a way it comes down to the individual's priorities and how much they value the 2 choices -- eg on one hand, a stable lifestyle, comfortable income, or something they love doing. I think most people will compromise though -- this is probably the category I fall under. There are some who are pressured by society, parents or otherwise to go down that path of monetary gain with little or no stimulation for their wants and needs, and there are those who drop everything and go straight for their dreams, regardless of whether they end up living in a box. I'm just wondering which one is better...

They say that if you do what you love, you will be successful and rich. Personally I think this is a load of crap. Agreed, there is a higher chance that you will do well in that respective field if you enjoy what you are doing, but even a stressed out doctor who hates his job is paid more than a teacher who loves what he's doing. Although, if the doctor values money, I suppose that also raises his 'love' for his job a little bit... I often see extremely talented artists on Queen St, begging for money because they're broke. I have a certain amount of respect for these people actually, because it's evident that they have pursued something they are interested in, and simply lost out because of life. But, these people hardly ever look happy to me. There are a lot of inspirational speakers who have been through hardships of chasing their dreams etc, experienced failure and then rose up to become international best selling authors (JK Rowling...) BUT, I always wonder, for that 1 person who succeeded, how many failed? It makes me wonder at what point you should stop chasing your dreams if they aren't working out and turn to something more stable instead. Or, if you should just go all the way if you already started something, because giving up is looked down upon, even if the chances of succeeding are so extremely slim?

How should we view life? I realised that at school we are given an extremely wonderful view of the world, but I have doubts about the reality that exists out there. Then again, it could just be that after St Cuths we somehow all have a magical gateway into the real world that is blessed with good luck and fortune. I don't like to kid myself, and I'm fully aware that for the greater majority, life is no such walk in the path. This makes me feel pessimistic sometimes even though I don't intend to be, because so many people seem to have an extremely idyllic view of the world. I question my perspective all the time, whether I am being too pessimistic or depressed. Honestly I don't think I'll ever figure it out, but I can't help the way I think. I would -like- to think that the world is a good place, but evidence trumps imagination.

On the other hand, it's dangerous to go through life thinking about it simply in terms of the negatives. I think it's important to have a certain amount of simplistic, ignorant love for the good things around us. Shallowness is something that is necessary, otherwise we would probably have gone insane already. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy :P Man I have gone really off topic now that I look at the title. HAHA... Oh well. I guess it's kind of relevant? You have to have some dreams. And if you're going to dream, I think you should dream big. But, don't expect all your dreams to come true, and accept that failure is just a part of life. I try not to expect much anymore (well at least less than before), and instead be met with surprises :) I think it's working out alright so far, but sometimes it's hard haha. And I think we can agree that if you don't fear failure, none of this is relevant. Just go for it :P Got nothing to fear anyway right? Too bad fear of failure is all too common.

I think this blog post pretty much went in circles. I apologise for fragmented thoughts, it really was just composed as I typed... @__@ usually I think about a few main points for a few days before blogging, but this was really spontaneous zzz... oh well, anyway I'm leaving for Paris on Thursday. I'll try to blog while I'm there but I don't know if I will have access to internet. But here's hoping, right? :) laters