If you ever want a drama series that doesn’t make you feel good, watch Mr Robot.
It’s one darn depressing, introverted, sceptical, false hope-kinda show.
You can be brilliant, but you’re still a pawn of this world, tossed around by bigger things, stuck in quicksand of debt — money, time, sleep, self-love etc.
You never had many dreams in the first place as life sucked since young, and any new dreams are crushed by crazy people who like to feel superior and own you as a piece of currency, used in exchange for something more valuable later on.
This is maybe why watching Korean dramas are better for the soul because there’s always a bit of hope, humour and the inkling of true love involved.
The older we get, the harder it is to dream big
I recently saw a social experiment video where Japanese kids got to secretly counsel their mums on living their childhood dreams.
Their dreams weren’t exactly difficult, like going to Jupiter or inventing a time-travel machine.
But they gave their childhood dreams up for mummy dreams of completing housework and just surviving on whatever time they had.
What did you dream about being when you were young?
I dreamt of being any one of the following four occupations, and having a life goal:
1. archaeologist like the cool ones in Jurassic Park
2. novelist of intense mind-blowing fiction
3. missionary travelling through jungles to help show heathens the light and love
4. doctor helping third world citizens like Médecins sans Frontières
5. Life goal: have kids and give family life a shot
I’ve tried a hand at the first 3 before the age of 20. It was good experience but I didn’t have much talent nor commitment.
I almost accepted #4 Down Under before I turned 25, but I found #5 more compelling.
Not all dreams are happily ever after
Every dream above is the start of an entirely new phase in life.
When you’ve finally climbed to the top of the mountain and seen the view, you still have to climb down, which can be much much harder.
It’s the journey that we live through, sometimes live for, and omg can be a helluva pain to get to the peak.
What’s your dream?
Is it too late to dream about being a space traveller? Or a hacker? Or a mummy cooking food for the needy at a soup kitchen?
I don’t know whether dreaming is useful or not, or a waste of time.
It’s one thing to point at other people’s lack of dreams, but what about yourself? What’s your dream?
Originally published at Jules of Singapore.