identity

I was never much of a dreamer as a kid. Forget being a princess, pilot, pop star or police officer. All I ever aspired to was to be an accountant - a short degree with strong job prospects.* I'm not even kidding. To tell you the truth, I was an unambitious and cynical child. The funny thing is that somewhere along the way into adulthood, I did start dreaming. I dreamed of changing the world. Perhaps it was born of a desire to prove that my unambitious and cynical younger self was so, so wrong. Changing the world hardly seemed a dream to me, though. In my early-to-mid-twenties, I started to appreciate that changing the world is within reach of each of us, that the smallest gesture can be a part of a bigger picture. That it doesn't have to be dramatic or headline-worthy to be, well, worthy. To count as real change. And since it was something I was already in the process of doing, it never seemed a far off reality. It never seemed far away enough to be called a dream. So whaddya know - it seems I've been living the dream. But there are also dreams I'm yet to live. These are not things I hope I manage to do before I die, nor will I feel unfulfilled if they don't happen. Far from being a bucket list, this is a set of six longings that speak to the core of who I am. I'm sharing them with you here, to encourage you to discover (if you haven't already) and reflect on your own dreams.