Repost: Getting Started

We all have our dreams. We start dreaming when we're young. Firemen. Astronauts. Princesses. Forks. I had a friend once years ago, who wanted to be a fork when she grew up. I'm not sure how that fork business is going for her, but that's beside the point.

Dreams are what get us through the hard times growing up. Moving. Bullies. Siblings. Grades. As we get older we forget our dreams. Eventually for many they die. But for others, the dreams never leave. They stay bright and eventually are fulfilled. In the Sims, it is their life goal to reach their aspiration - their dream. When reached they are eternally happy. Forever in platinum mood. Isn't that the goal of everyone? To be eternally happy doing whatever it is that makes them that way.

Dreams play an important role in this. Even if dreams change over time. Get altered. Get shifted. Get twisted. Or you get off the path. Sometimes taking the path less traveled. The path not charted. Or blazing a completely new path taking others along for the ride. These twists, turns, off-roading situations are what make life interesting and shape the smaller parts of our dreams. The small details that we never thought about. For example, many little girls want to be princesses when they grow up. Get swept away by their white night. Live in the castle guarded by dragons and knights. Live happily ever after. But they learn when they get older that being a princess requires things that are out of their hands. Birthright is the major one.

When the dream starts to die. When careers start to take hold. A white knight rides into us as we are trying to get our best friend's sperm to the OB/GYN so we can have that baby. Suddenly the dream flares back to life. The details of being a princess has changed since we last played at six. Our kingdom is our home on Long Island. Our knight - the prince is the randomly met guy. Our glass slipper is just a shoe shaped planter. But our prince treats us like the queen that we are. Screw princess. Queens get to rule. Get to take charge. That's what we wanted all along. Little girls are naturally bossy.

Dreams change as our lives change. But like us, our dreams don't completely change beyond recognition. Have you ever ran into someone you haven't seen in years? You recognize them, but they are different. Older. Not exactly how your mind wants them to be. As you are to them. But in a word, they recognize you. Then you spend the next couple hours catching up over coffee. These moments are of the same kind as those when we rediscover our dreams. I wonder if my friend has a nice set of forks. Forks for every occasion...

Photos: Fireman taken by Lucas Janin (via flickr). Path from cambridgeincolor.com. Planted shoe from BCF Garden Spot. Forks from FreeFoto.