Dreams

"When you dream, what do you dream about?"

- Barenaked Ladies (Stunt)

Dreams can take the form of many things. Maybe it's our aspirations for the future, or our subconscious working out solutions while we sleep. Maybe we see things the way we want them to be or replay scenarios that didn't work out well the first time.

When I was 17 and decided I wanted to be a photographer, I had people asking what I planned to do with that (usually in a very snobby and condescending way). My response was always, "I want to work for National Geographic." Going into college, that was my dream job. I loved the idea of traveling around the world and taking pictures for a living. It just sounded magical. Oddly enough, when I met my best friend at the end of our freshman year, I found out she had the same dream job (at the time). Needless to say it was that moment that solidified our friendship for there.

Over time, our dreams change. We get older, see the world differently, and our perception of what we really want evolves. Yes, some people know from a very young age what they want, but I never really had that. I was always a creative child... pretending to invent things or making up my own card games. In elementary school we had to do a project on what we wanted to be when we grew up. For some reason still unbeknownst to me, I chose advertising. I didn't know anything about advertising or marketing, but it sounded cool so that's what my project was on.

When I talk to people now and tell them about my degrees and desire to work in the nonprofit sector, they usually ask, "What do you want to do? Where do your passions lie?" I think that second question is usually the harder hitting one for me. What I want to do varies, honestly, from day to day. Other than the fact that I simply want to be happy with my work and go home at the end of the day feeling fulfilled, the manner in which I can accomplish that differs depending on my mood. But my passions? Those never change. I want to help those less fortune, I want to fight mental health stigma, I want to save the planet... I want to make the world a better place. This is the typical conversation that I have with people:

Person A: What is your degree in?

Me: Human Services

Person B: So, what would you like to do with that?

Me: I just want to help people. My concentration is in Global Studies.

Person A: Oh, so you want to save the world!

That's basically it in a nutshell. I want to make people happy. I want to make myself happy, and making other people happy will help me. I want to be able to give back and know at the end of the day that I put something good out into the world. Do these qualify as dreams? Can I even say I have a "dream job" anymore? I'm not sure. I know the feeling that I want to have, but not necessarily how to obtain it.

Every day I apply to jobs and hope for the best... hope being the key word. I can never give up the hope that something will stick. I know when it's right, it'll happen. Everything happens when and how it's supposed to. 

The hope of it all is what keeps me dreaming.

So... what do you dream about?

- Danielle