Little Dreams

Tonight, a dream of mine came true.

More on that in a minute...

Here's a picture of a statue of Pikachu, for no real reason

     As I'm writing this, I'm thinking of those in my generation, my peers, my circle of 20-something kids who are trying to figure out how to adult, but I suppose this will speak to all of those who need to hear it.

     We all have dreams. Big dreams that we desire to achieve, against all odds. Some people work harder than others to achieve there dreams, while some are forced to give up on their dreams in order to deal with life. No matter which side you fall on, one thing that's certain is that we all have dreams. And, for the most part, we all focus almost exclusively on the big dream; the "movie star" dream, the "rock star" dream, the "own a lucrative business that makes me a household name" dream. And who could blame us? These dreams represent the big picture that we want for our life, thus making it very easy for us to devote all of our energy to them. But what about our little dreams?

     You know, the little dreams of decorating your own place for the first time, or singing a song in front of friends and family, or writing something that gets published. These dreams are very easy to laugh off, or place on the back burner. In the grand scheme of things they can seem silly, and not worth the energy it takes to pursue them. These little dreams fall by the wayside, and we hardly even notice. But I think we should.

     Speaking from experience, I know how exhausting it can be to chase our big dreams. I still haven't created my own long running show, set and shot in St. Louis, to HBO/Netflix, and at this point, I'm not sure I ever will. But I keep going. Keep picturing it. Keep envisioning ways to go about achieving this. But it's hard. It's the hardest thing I've ever tried to do, and motivation wanes much easier than it comes. This is why it's important to have those little dreams. Achieving, even the smallest of dreams, can give you that boost you need. It can remind you that life still has good things to offer; that you can absolutely put your mind to something and attain it. It reminds you that you can win. And we all need that.

Tonight, a dream of mine came true. Tonight, I was cast in an upcoming production of Little Shop of Horrors. I'll be providing the voice of Audrey II. Tonight, I can finally tell my 8 year old self that dreams really do come true.

5 Years Ago....

Intro: Oh hello there. I know, it's been a while, but in all honesty, I just don't need this place as much as I used to. And that's a good thing. But, seeing as how it's my Nawlins Anniversary, I figured I should pop in and say what's up. But then earlier I read this thing. I don't even think it's a new thing, but it still hit me in all the feels, and gave me the idea to use it as the basis for my post. So that's what I'm gonna do.......Ok, intro over.

(Here's the thing I was talking about earlier. Read the thing. It's a good thing.)

Prompt: Explain your current situation to your five-years-ago self.

Hey Greg,

It's me, you. It's you. It's me and you. Sorry, I'm a little nervous.

If I'm remembering correctly, and I am, then you just moved back home after graduating, and you just started working at Best Buy. You hate that job, but you don't realize it yet. You're still happy that someone hired you, and they're teaching about computers. Just hang on, you'll only have to be there for a few months, and the money you save from it is really going to come in handy. And don't worry too much about the job. Pretty soon you'll be working at a movie theater and you'll love it, even though it'll take some time for you to warm up to it. You'll even meet your next girlfriend there, but it'll take even longer for you to realize it. Things don't last, but she was good for us for a time. 

I'm actually pretty excited for you. You're right at the beginning of the path that's going to lead you on a long and winding road you'll call your life. You're going to start working on television shows soon, which will be very exciting. That is, until you get laid off, and begin the period I've come to know as "Exile in St. Louis." It's going to be rough, I won't lie, but you'll grow from it, I think. At the very least you'll realize that you never want to go that long without a fucking job ever again. Just remember, stay close to Hannah. She's going to take care of you.

There's so much you still have left to come. Coolfire, the award in Vegas, tattoos, training, car accidents, Sweetie Pie's, anxiety, Producer credits.... And, believe it or not, in a few years time, you'll be packing up the car and heading west. You made it all to Los Angeles. You'll work and struggle out there for a bit, chalking it all up to "paying your dues" while wondering if you'll ever actually stop paying your dues. But the journey doesn't end there. In fact, I still haven't told you the best part.

Right now, you're sitting at a desk in your very apartment, writing this on your very on Macbook pro (yes, we made the switch awhile back. Get over it.), thinking back on your life and trying to figure out how you got here. A year ago today, you arrived in New Orleans and began working on a project that's unlike anything you've ever done before. It is going to test you in ways you didn't even know you could be tested, and, even though I can't say for sure at this time, you're going to be better for all of it. A few days from now last year, you're going to swipe Right on this cute girl named Amanda in this app called Tindr. Tindr is....well let's just say you're going to hate it, but it works out in the end. Soon enough, you and Amanda will start this amazing journey together, and before long it's going to be 10 months later, and you still haven't been able to figure out how you got so lucky.

I would love to say that you made it, kid. But I can't. What I can say, is that you're making it. You won't always see it, but life has been good to you, and I'm going to keep working to make sure that it continues to be good to you. 2011 was both yesterday, and a lifetime ago, and I still feel everything you're feeling right now.

Now, clean up the kitchen, finish that episode of Doctor Who, and get to work. The rest of your life is about to start.