I’ve put away some dreams. Did I have a choice? Yet, others I have kept alive by making them a reality. What would life be without dreams? Here are some of the dreams I left behind as I grew older.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. Oh, how I wanted to travel in space looking for life on other planets and perhaps bring back a few aliens to earth. I quickly gave that up realizing I suffered from motion sickness. Every single time I rode in the back of my parents’ car, I can’t tell you how many times I christened the seats with the contents of my meals.
When I was a bit older, I wanted to be a lawyer. Unfortunately, I had to forget that dream when I found out that I wasn’t very good at arguing. Back then, my arguments went something like this:
Girl who liked me: “Did you break my bike?”
Me: “No.”
Girl who liked me: “You were the last person to use it.”
Me: “I didn’t break your bike.”
Girl who liked me: “You did break it. You suck.”
Me: “Well, you suck harder. So there.”
Like I said, I wasn’t very good at arguing.
When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a rock star. Obviously, that didn’t happen. I learned all Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page‘s licks, joined a wedding band–I didn’t say I knew what I was doing, did I?–and eventually started my own band. We didn’t make much money, but the stress of lugging our own equipment wasn’t what I’d hoped. Where were the girls? What about the late night parties?
When I was out of high school, I wanted to author literature. I imagined a life where I lived in a cottage in the middle of the woods while I banged out a manuscript for my next bestseller. Somehow, the image of wearing one of those smoking jackets, sitting by the fire as I nursed a glass of Napoleon Brandy appealed to me.
That never happened. I’m pretty sure I suffered from ADD at the time, which in turn left me with jimmy legs. I couldn’t sit still for more than five seconds. Oh, well. At least I still have the notes to my ideas. That counts for something, right?
When I was much older, I dreamed of writing books. I wrote one book about zombies, I wrote another one about zombies and aliens, and now I’m writing a third about zombies again. I don’t think I ever gave up the dream of being a published author, although I may have changed what I’ve wanted to write about.
Am I happy? Yeah, I am. I’m glad I didn’t become an astronaut, a lawyer, a rock star or an author of literature. It took a long time for me to figure out my dreams. Was it worth it? Yeah, I would say so.
But I have to confess, it took a lot of work to become a published author. Had I known what I know now, I still would have done it the way I did. It’s the only way I knew how.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, on sale now.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE ALIEN INVASION, on sale now.
RANGER MARTIN AND THE SEARCH FOR PARADISE, on sale October 20.
What is it about dreams that spur the imagination? Have you achieved your dreams?
Looking to God 
Great post, Jack. I, too, wanted to be an astronaut or astronomer (I was so young, I probably didn’t understand the words for either), but found, chiefly, that the dream didn’t match the motivation (and, dangit, I just didn’t have a face-to-face mentor like Carl Sagan or something!). I wasn’t prepared to be excellent in mathematics and science, so it wouldn’t have worked out. Nor would have the whole flying thing, because I’m very sheepish about heights and flying (at least now as an adult).
Yet, even though I’m not a determinist or a spiritual person, I feel like I’m where I’m ‘supposed’ to be. I have come to realize that the most important thing I’m likely to do in my life is parenting. Everything else is icing, as they say. (Not to say that I no longer have dreams for myself.)
Hi! Thanks for stopping by 🙂 Anything dreams related is my cup of tea, so I really enjoyed reading this. I think you are brave to write about such a delicate subject, the dreams that we didn’t get to live. But it’s just a reminder we did manage to build the other ones that brought us here, right? My biggest dream when I was in high school was to see Venice. I thought life could not get any better. And then I did. It was more than I’ve dreamed of. Later, I dreamt of having a blog and business around my art/writing, and now I have them, but each dream brings me closer to wishing hundreds of new ones. I don’t think we ever stop dreaming, I think we were born to dream even with our last breath. 🙂
Thanks, Loredana. 🙂 When writing this post I was looking for an easy way to describe how I felt during the times when I thought I wanted to be something. Of course, when we become something else, that too holds a grand surprise. In your case, Venice is such a pretty city. I’ve lived in Italy but always wanted to go to Venice, as it represents beauty in all its forms. Glad you enjoyed it. I wish you all the best with your blog and business, and may all your dreams come true!
Thank so much Jack, I really appreciate it!
I guess we all had to let go of a dream or two in order to make way for what we have become. Nice post
I still dream of taking DNA samples & making celebrity clones using a DNA sequencer & a 3D printer ! There’s just a slight problem with funding. & the clones would wear out after a 5 – year lifespan.
I need to look up Dr. Eldon Tyrell….. Gratuitous Blade Runner reference. 🙂
Nothing quite like a Blade Runner reference! Awesome movie! 😉
It’s a modern – day ( pretty much modern day ) classic. I have the DVD directors’ cut.
& tonight they’re premiering the series ” HUMANS “, a British – American production that has a strong Blade – Runner vibe, just from the commercials, even though the ” HUMANS ” are actually highly sophisticated robots. A lot of people have predicted that humanoid robots will be available to the general public, either via direct sale to very RICH people, or perhaps a ” rental ” arrangement ( like hiring a maid, home – care person, temp secretary, etc. )
We’re not far from it. Have a look at the iRobot automated vacuum cleaner for the home. It’s an amazing piece of technology. And can we forget Siri in this scenario? It’s coming…
An acquaintance of mine spun a ” nightmare ” scenario where they start spouting ADS. As if adware wasn’t bad enough. 🙂 No ” robot revolution ” required, they just drive humanity to mental instability via a glut of ads. 🙂
People have this unusual love / hate relationship with the idea of A.I. & advanced robots. Meanwhile they appear to be all the rage in countries like Japan & Korea. It’ll be a required study in many colleges, I’m willing to bet.
It’s interesting how are dreams develop as we grow and change. I too wanted to be an author, but I always planned on going the traditional route. It took me a while to get to where I am now, but I am happy with the path I have taken. The wandering paths our dreams take us on open up adventures unknown to us when we first set out on our path.
Kudos! It takes a while to figure out where we fit in the grander scheme of things, but the journey is worth every second of our life.
I had to give up my dream of becoming a mountain climber when I realized i suffered from height sickness. I literally get sick in high areas. so, feeling the full sympathy there.
I wanted to be an opera singer too but after my tonsils got taken out and my voice changed that was a no go.
I dreamed a lot when I was kid and almost got to realize at least a couple of those dreams.
But I’m happy at least one of my dreams came true. I’ve always loved books and always thought how great it would be to work in a library. Becoming a librarian was one of the easier dreams to accomplish.
Now, I have new dreams. There’s always new ones.
I think becoming a librarian is so cool. I was a page in a library in my teens and I sure loved working during those rainy nights when I stayed late to close up. The smell of books, the activities, the late nights–I loved all of it! You are an inspiration!
Working on my dream of world domin…I mean, writing books now. 🙂
Ha, I didn’t hear a thing. I know nothin’, nothin’! 😉
awww but weren’t those dreams wonderful while we dreamed them!