Keep it real.

As a little kid, I was quite the day dreamer.  I can remember staring into the ether imaging what my adult life would be like, the places I would someday go and the man that would one day be my everything.  I would dream up show concepts, music, fashion ideas and always thought I would become a famous figure skater and/or the manager of Abba.  ;-) I was going to be and do it all.

However, as time went on, it was instilled in me by friends, family and society that being a dreamer with an overactive imagination would get me no where.  I needed education, a good job and a man to take care of me.  Yip... that is what young girls have been taught for many generations.  So I learned to become more efficient at turning off the imagination.  I focused on my education, got a good job, promoted, got married and worked hard to be a dutiful wife.  It wasn't a bad life by any stretch of the imagination but it certainly wasn't the one that I had dreamed about.  I often felt like my auto pilot switch was stuck and I had absolutely no control.  I was living the life that I THOUGHT others wanted me to live.

I cannot put my finger on a specific aha moment or glorious revelation but do recall thinking, "why do I care what others may or may not want me to do?"...  All I know is that I had ideas and I was hell bent on seeing them to fruition. 

Some may call it a mid-life crisis but I call it "taking control".

It took some potentially unpopular choices to get me where I am today but I can say without any hesitation that my life has never been more vibrant, exhilarating or joyous.  Even on those days that are stressful or frightening, I know that I am living my life the way I intend.  Regardless of fears or crazy self belief systems, I keep trudging along and blazing my own trail.  The way I feel today vs. back then is indescribable.

So the point that I wish to make is two-fold.  1) Please allow yourself to be you.  Keep it real.  Say what you need to say, love who you want to love, wear what you want to wear... There are no rules.  Be you, be kind and allow yourself to be loved.  2) Exercise extreme caution when listening and talking to youth about their aspirations.  Though they may not be yours for them, they are important to them.  Nobody knows what someone else is capable of achieving unless you give them every opportunity to try.  Challenge them to dream big and do the same for yourself.

That is my rant for today.  Peace, love and light...

t.