I've been asked this question from the day I finished 10th grade and I'm guessing most people have had a similar experience. Well, now, about 15 years down the line, I think we should frame a new question 'Is this where I saw myself, when I started walking down my path of dreams?'
I for one had a very different picture in my head. I planned to work in finance for about 10 yeas, make a ton of money, retire when I was about 30-35 to just paint and write and have a cozy little bookshop of my own. Oh! and I also planned to live in Florence and spend one month in every year exploring a new country. Yup, I was what you call realistic.
Today, I'm a year and a half away from my 30 birthday and my life seems to have gone off on a tangent. I've been married for almost 5 years, have a 2.5 year old daughter, have chosen to take care of my in-laws, left behind my investment banking job and run a healthcare business with my techie husband. But you know what, this life seems pretty good to me! Yes, we are currently strapped for cash, I haven't done any serious painting for over two years and this blog is my only form of writing. However, I am optimistic that we will, one day, travel the world together (it may be as back-packers or with first-class round tickets), I will definitely have an art gallery of my own and maybe this blog will give me the courage to finally write that book.
So here's what I'll tell my daughter when she starts planning her perfect life: Plan and work towards your dream but let life flow as well. You never know what path the river will take to reach the sea. It may be longer than you thought but also a lot richer and way more interesting.
Great post. This is the first time I have visited your blog. I have two sons and I hope to pass on this idea to them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting. I have to make sure I follow through on this as well. It's easy to come up with ideas on how we want to bring up our kids, but much tougher to remember them when the occasion arises.
ReplyDeleteHere from SITS. Great advice. I'm a dreamer too. I really think we should hold on to our dreams, but flexibility is important, otherwise we can feel devastated when life takes us ways we don't expect.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Visiting from SITS!
ReplyDeleteEmbejo @ Going with the flow does make life much easier. Like you said dreams coupled with flexibility coz there are so many factors we can't control.
ReplyDeleteCharlene @ Thank you for visiting. Will be dropping by your blog soon.