“Follow your dreams,” “Follow your heart,” “Be who you always wanted to be,” or “Who cares about what people think?” said every main character from a romantic comedy movie. Truth is, I would look up to these actresses or actors who said it, be it Hilary Duff from “A Cinderella Story, Reese Witherspoon from “Legally Blonde,” or even Lindsay Lohan from, “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen.” But now, you might as well have handed me the bucket to tell you how I really feel about this cliche that following your dream can sound that easy.
As an individual among many, who is focused on achieving my dream, like it or not, there is so much work to do before we can see our dreams become the very reality we desire. I know I am still learning every day that dreams will not start until you pay the deposit. We’re not talking simple application forms and a small fee to becoming the next billionaire, no. Whether that dream is losing a few pounds, finally starting a blog or falling in love, as many of us know, dreams carry real weight and bearing in our lives. To achieve goals, sacrifices of many kinds seem to be the only acceptable transaction. When we make those sacrifices, it enables us to reaffirm our goals, or does it?
From giving up time and energy with loved ones, we deposit these elements into building our dreams, hoping the return on investment (ROIs) will come through as time permits. Whether these dreams become the reality we wish for, an “almost,” or a continuous work-in-progress, dreams require a different mental energy; leaps of faith. These dreams start as simple as the desire to want more for yourself, group, or a community, to setting your plans into motion, because once you set necessary steps and timelines, dreams will become a plan, a possibility, a work-in-progress, and a living reality.
However, while the dazzle and sparkles continue to captivate and motivate us, watching a dream come true also continues to remind us of just how much work goes into developing a goal that is worth it. Seeing your dreams come together can mean seeing progress in weight loss or even weight gain, finally having a few blog posts lined up after putting in the time and work, hearing someone say “I love you,” right after you made the first move, which are all just examples of how impossible your dream seemed then, and how satisfied you are with yourself after that.
So for those of you out there who are still wondering if you can take seriously these cliche sayings, I would say yes, but also no. At the end of every cliche sentence is a hidden reality or context. It’s only a matter of discovering it for yourself whether it is true. There is no right or wrong answer. Just a work-in-progress that sacrifices are worth it when you make it worth it, taking the time to appreciate that you are not where you started, but better than the day before, and to remember to take a leap of faith for yourself.
petiteshark 