"What's your dream?" is harmless, but it remains a question I found hard to answer. I'm not talking about the dreams you experience during your sweet Zzz time, but dreams for your future-goals, aspirations, the things you want to achieve in life to keep you motivated and walk in a certain path.
Since we were kids, we were frequently hit by the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" At that age, it seemed easy to figure out who we wanted to be; a lawyer, doctor, firefighter, or even astronaut. By the time we were in high school, we started to make the blueprint for our future by planning what major we wanted to get in. Once we graduate, we learn that getting our dream job right off the bat is not as easy as we think.
Society has pressured us from such a young age to dream big and pursue our goals. It's because dreams are believed to give life a purpose. Yet, at the age of 24, I'm starting to realize that sometimes that's not all there is to life. Yes, there are some titles that I could excel at if I really put my heart into it, but nothing really ever stood out enough to me that I wanted to dedicate my life to it. I don't feel like there's a calling. Then, I realize that not having a dream job at all is also okay.
It's okay not to have a clear response to the question "What do you want to do with your life?" I'm not saying that you shouldn't dream big. I'm saying that it's okay not to dream big. It's okay not to have it all figured out, which includes your ultimate end goal. But that doesn't necessarily grant you the pass of living passively. Still, we all need a spark of motivation to keep going so in the end, we can find out where life decides to take us. Live passionately in the moment.
With that being said, who says a dream must be something splendid, too? If you have "simple" short-term goals or a bucket list, be it buying a laptop next month, visiting a city, going to your favorite band's show, or just sleeping peacefully that gets you motivated too, doesn't it? Life is so much more than just being successful.
I learned that it's all right to dream of a life where I could just feel content living in a small home with a decent job, as long as my bills are being paid and I don't have to worry about what I'm going to eat for the next few days. Just like how the lyrics to Paradise by BTS rings, "Dream doesn't need to be anything grand/You can just become anyone/We deserve a life/Whether it's big or small, you're still just you".
(HAI/alm)