All of my life, I’ve tended to dream of elaborate and glamorous situations that are never really that practical. My problem is that I fall in love with words, rather than actions. I fall I love with ideas and thoughts, instead of reality. It will be the death of me. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a pop star when I grew up. I dreamed of singing to hundreds of thousands of fans that chanted my name and sang along to my songs. I pictured myself walking red carpet events and winning awards for my number one single. I dreamed of being a star. Of course, this dream was immediately shut down when I soon discovered how terrible of a singer I am. So I moved on to movie star, to Olympic gymnast and so and so forth.
Growing up, you’re constantly told you can be whoever and whatever you want. You’re told that as long as you’re doing what you love and doing something you’re passionate about, you will be happy. So I dreamed of what my future held. The idea of escaping reality for a moment and traveling to this fantasyland seems to be completely harmless.
And then reality set in... and student loans.
It seems as though when you hit a certain age, the idea of following your dreams and pursuing your passions seems like a joke unless it gets you high salary job straight out of college. Even if you don’t mold your career choice based on these financial restrictions, your parents/guardians/counselors/any kind of elder or role model in your life forces you to consider these factors. I’m constantly pressured to pursue more “realistic” degrees like economics, pre-med, computer science, engineering, etc. over a creative writing or art degree in fear that I won’t be able to make a substantial living when I’m older. It’s even harder to disagree with these “suggestions” from my parents when they are people paying for my tuition. It’s not that I’m not 100 percent grateful that they're paying for my college education (because I am, don’t get me wrong). However, I would definitely appreciate having more of a say in the education I’m spending four years of my life working towards.
I know my parents do and say the things that they do because they want to make sure my future is solid and I will be happy, but wouldn’t I be happy doing something that I really love? I mean, I may not be making the most money in the world but I’d rather be happy and low in funds than spend my days miserable. And I know that’s easy for me to say because I’m not struggling financially, but that’s what my definition of happiness and life satisfaction is based upon my upbringing (which I completely recognize as privileged). Maybe I’m overly optimistic about the future but I guess that's just the dreamer in me.
