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Dreams. It’s funny how they change

I used to want to write a book. A great teenage fiction novel. I used to want to write (and play my own songs). I used to want to be famous – not Lady Gaga style famous, but a name known in households nonetheless.

I don’t want any of those things anymore. I have no interest in reading books about being in high school, and subsequently, no interest in writing for the genre. I love karaoke and SingStar, but have a decidedly mediocre voice and terrible stage fright; short of donning a Slipknot-style mask, performing would be the death of me. I suppose I wouldn’t object to being a “name”, but seeing my byline on published pieces is enough of a thrill.

I don’t feel like I’m giving up on these dreams; they just don’t compel me anymore. I don’t have an interest in pursuing my hobbies to a high level – it may sound like I’m downgrading my ambitions, and I guess in a way, the things I want are much more simple now. I want to live comfortably, financially speaking. I want to enjoy my work, to throw dinner parties, have board game nights, the occasional night on the town. To play entire songs again on guitar. To travel and see things I’ve only heard or read about. To feel the sun on my back on the beach, and the crisp, chilly air and crunching leaves underfoot. To eat cheese, prosciutto, and other amazing foods without worrying about the price tag. To live in a house with my name on the title and eventually, a couple of little people running around in it.

Do you dream big? Or are your aspirations more geared towards the simple pleasures?

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12 thoughts on “Dreams. It’s funny how they change

  • Reply Pretty Unfamous July 21, 2010 at 18:33

    My dreams are to be happy and healthy throughout my life. I don’t have high aspirations to be rich and famous, just successful in my own right and to live a life I can be proud of. Simple enough, right?

    • Reply Get Happy Life December 16, 2010 at 12:02

      Yes but being happy has prerequisites like being healthy in first place, having good social environment, stable source of income. People are happy when they gain something, when they learn new skills or acquire some other type of value.

  • Reply Stephany July 22, 2010 at 12:42

    I can’t even tell you how much my dreams have changed! I think I’ve realized that I’m setting myself up for a life that’s not going to be easy & money-friendly…even though that’s what I wanted when I grew up. (Growing up in a poor family will do that to you.) But my dreams have changed a lot since I was younger. I still want to be an author, but I know my chances of earning a significant living off of it is pretty dismal.

  • Reply Rachel July 22, 2010 at 15:58

    The older I get, the simpler my dreams get. But that means they are essentially attainable. If you had asked me when I was 22 what I wanted, I would have spun tales of a PhD and ivory towers, and being a professor and having some intellectual love affair.

    Now? I just want a slightly more satisfying job that’s in a city and pays the bills. That would make me happy. In some ways it seems like settling, but it doesn’t feel like it.

  • Reply eemusings July 22, 2010 at 16:19

    @Rachel Exactly – I don’t feel like I’m settling either.

  • Reply Bankruptcy Benjamin July 22, 2010 at 19:51

    I think you realise that you don’t need to be famous to be happy. Isn’t that what we’re after in the end. Being happy?

    Mine is small house big yard orchard and chickens deal.

  • Reply Jay March 4, 2011 at 23:43

    I dream big! It’s not about money or fame. I’m simply trying to achieve something big in my life. Doesn’t matter if it’s successful or not – at least I’m trying. I only live once so I don’t want to be just average or ordinary 🙂

  • Reply Link love (Powered by setbacks and rain. Lots of it) | Musings of an Abstract Aucklander April 30, 2011 at 14:10

    […] urges us to take the leap now – because dreams change, as I’ve said […]

  • Reply Seven Links | Musings of an Abstract Aucklander July 30, 2011 at 08:47

    […] I’m still sarcastic and prickly, but I’m no longer a total downer, as I detailed in this Reverb10 post on the best decision I ever made. I also have a soft spot for this little post, Dreams. It’s funny how they change. […]

  • Reply The more things change… | Musings of an Abstract Aucklander September 13, 2011 at 15:54

    […] talked briefly before about how dreams change as you get older. And Stacking Pennies tackled a similar topic the other day, that of lost possibilities, because […]

  • Reply oilandgarlic September 14, 2011 at 04:36

    Dreams definitely evolved. When I was in college, I wanted to do something creative in life, money be damned. In my mid 20s and early 30s, I wanted a better career and financial stability, creativity be damned. Now that I’m in my early 40s, with kids, I just want a simple life, with a mix of stability and some creative outlet.

  • Reply Learning to take criticism | Musings of an Abstract Aucklander May 22, 2012 at 22:59

    […] That song was pretty rad. I have a fond spot for my favourite blog posts (here, here, here and here). And usually, I find my best work happens when it just flows forward. Writing that I labour over […]

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