Monday, April 23, 2012

A girl with a dream.

That girl would be me.  Do you ever daydream about those carefree days...in high school, college?  Sure it was hard at times.  I was discovering myself, learning the lessons that would shape who I am today.  Some of those lessons learned tend to linger, creeping into adulthood.



As an adult, my dreams have become overshadowed by the responsibilities that come with this life.  I get bogged down by these obligations.  It is, after all, the reason I'm trying to boost my daily happiness.  I'm reminding myself much more often of how grateful I am for this life I have with my D, my furry babies, having a job, and everything else wonderful I have.  There is still the disheartening fact that I may never live out some of my beautiful dreams.

Punky got me thinking about dreams when she posed this question,
"I'm curious--if you could go and/or do anything you wanted to in your life right now... what would it be? Where would you relocate?"




If I could do anything with my life right now...I would be a travel writer and get paid to write/blog on the side.  Traveling is my passion; I could not fully live a life without travel.  I dream of being my own boss, doing something I love and getting paid for it.  I have a small dream of writing my own book.  Having a job that gives me the opportunity to travel and be paid for it would be a dream come true.

Why can't this dream come true?  I don't have a degree that proves I know how to write.  I'm up to my ears in student loan debt and just can't afford to go back to school.  I don't think anyone is extending offers to pay someone to travel and drink for a living.

Where would I relocate...I'm absolutely obsessed with Europe.  After our trip around Europe, I can not stop thinking about how amazing it would be to live there.  The easy accessibility to so many amazing places filled with enthralling histories.  The beauty.  The cultures.  I'm fascinated.  It would be a dream come true to relocate to any city in Europe.  I'll take an job there...just the opportunity to live there would be enough for me.



My dreams continue to stay big, but what if I never see that day that they come true?  Adulthood can make you feel stuck.  How do you get unstuck and follow your big dreams?

How would you answer Punky's question? 

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Did you pull these answers out of my head? We need to make up a plan to get us both where we wanna be. We're smart ladies. Let's do it!

A Refreshed Take Off

Anna said...

I think you literally just spoke my mind with this post. Every single thing you said, I agree.

How do we get out of the "normal, great, but somewhat boring" routine of life and really start living our dreams!? I'd like to know too...

do_it_ajen said...

I would travel as well. When I got back from Senegal in 2010, my google search history looked like:
"How to be a travel blogger"
"How to travel for a living"
"How to make money and travel"

Lol.

Katie Price said...

In my experience, to follow your dreams you have to let go of what you have now & have enough faith to move forward. Much easier said than done! But I believe it's worth it. (Obviously, why else would i have given everything up to follow my husband to a developing country.)

Punky J said...

Oh Kristin, I hope I have not caused you too much stress in my questioning!! And still, I'm so happy that my words are influencing others and getting them to think.

What I do want to say to you is this: You are young (remember we have that part on our side still, for quite some time yet still) which means there is still PLENTY of time for things to happen, places to go, life to be experienced in levels that right now may not seem near or possible.

I think the goals and dreams you have in mind are some EXCELLENT ones, and actually are totally doable! First off, you DO NOT need a degree that says you can do anything. Except maybe be a doctor or lawyer. Or engineer. You know those kinds of things. But write? Obviously you can write. You have a blog, which by the way makes for a GREAT portfolio and great PRACTICE in terms of becoming a better writer and trying to market yourself as such.
Also, why not start off small with some of the things you want to do in a big way later on? Remember, things take awhile to develop and happen. (I have been dreaming of NEW YORK my whole life, and I have given up A LOT to finally get myself there.) You mentioned you love beer... why not start a series on the blog about all your beer tastings and different taverns/breweries you have checked out. Maybe you and the husband can plan some travels around checking out great beer, since that is something you both enjoy, and who knows, maybe down the road it can become a professional thing for you? Traveling and blogging about beer! Idk, just an idea...

Anyway, long comment short (too late), not all hope is lost. And I think you are on the right track, remembering to count the blessing you already have, that part is important! You are also right in thinking about what it is you want out of life. This is something everyone should be doing on a daily basis, IMO. Now all you have to do is brainstorm ways in which you can MAKE IT HAPPEN, little by little. :)

kim @ a positive peace said...

Yes!!! That's me too!! I'm trying to take steps to achieve this by going back to school to get my masters in international education...then I can work in both my passions: education and travel!

Dorothy Explora said...

what an absolutely sweet post :) thanks!

makes me wnna write one too, eheh.

dorothy
theymaysaythatimadreamer.blogspot.com

Aspiring Kennedy said...

girl- this used to be ME. i worked a real job, had a house + mortgage, a dog, cars, yadda yadda...

we were so deep in our lives, but we chucked it ALL, worked our butts off to figure out how to legally get visas to the UK, and now- live our dream.

it is not easy. it's hard to do, but it's not impossible- and you should totally do it. it's worth it, every single day!!!

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