How A Dream Changed My Life

 

One day, when I first moved to Los Angeles I had a dream that actually changed my perspective on life. It was 2012, I was 22 and just moved to Los Angeles and landed my dream job straight out of college— an entertainment reporter.

Me on the red carpet at the 2013 Emmy's.

Me on the red carpet at the 2013 Emmy’s.

At the 2014 Billboard Awards red carpet

At the 2014 Billboard Awards red carpet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sounds perfect, right?

Little did I know that my life would be working 24/7; Sometimes working up to 60 hours in three days. Not only that but at 22, you realize you’re an adult. College is over and it basically feels like where you are is where you will be forever. So many thoughts filled my mind: Would I ever have time for myself? Would I get caught up in Hollywood? Would I lose sight of family? My job was sometimes so vain and I was amazing at it— yet I was terrified of where I was going. I questioned was I on the right path?

That night I had a dream that gave me the answer I needed.

I dreamt I was walking among the clouds. It was a peaceful day and the sky was blue filled with sunlight. I was walking with what seemed to me, an angel. I was complaining to the angel. I told him I didn’t know where I was going and that I was frustrated with my life and scared that I’d lose track of what is most important to me.

Screen shot 2014-09-27 at 12.33.47 AM

“Dreams are more real than reality itself, they’re closer to the self.” – Gao Xingjian

“What do I do?” I asked.

He replied, “If you were to die tomorrow what would you want to be remembered for?”

I paused for a moment. Stunned by the calmness of his voice and simplicity of his response.

“I want to be remembered for being kind and a good person,” I replied.

His response was simple, “Then go do that.”

Nothing more needed to be said. From that moment I realized what the angel in my dream knew that I didn’t. Instead of filling my mind with ‘what if’s’ I needed to be reminded that all I want in life is to be kind and be a good person. I realized that we get caught up in our day-to-day life. What the angel knew was life is simple. If something doesn’t serve us then we must find something that does.

Five Ideas You Will Never Believe Came From Dreams

If all I want to do is be kind and a good person then that’s all I needed to do. Since that dream I decided to use being a good person and kind as my template– if I wasn’t doing that then I needed to restructure my goals so I could do that.

So, I have stayed at my job and yes I still get stressed and work sometimes 20-hour days and I still don’t always know where I am going and get scared. But I think of the dream and remember that life is simple and all I need to do when I get lost is to keep going and continue to be a good person and be kind.

I leave you with one question: If you were to die tomorrow what do you want to be remembered for?

In the words of the angel, “Go do that.” 

Leave a Reply to Anonymous Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *