When Do You Stop Dreaming as an Adult?

When I was in high school I wanted to be the next Katie Couric. My dream was to be an anchor on the iconic TODAY Show, sharing the news and interviewing the most interesting and fabulous people in the world. I was going to live in NYC in a penthouse apartment and travel the world chasing stories whenever I possibly could. That was my dream.

When I was in college that dream stayed within my heart and my soul. I would dream of leaving RI for NYC all the time. I wanted to be part of the liveliest City in the world and make my 2nd home right at 30 Rock. I interned in NYC one summer at ABC’s The View and really got a taste of NYC life. I loved it. I loved the fashion. I loved the people. I loved the taxis. I loved the town cars. I loved jetting off to the Hamptons for the weekend with friends. My dream suddenly got bigger.

When I moved to NYC right out of college, I couldn’t afford to live in NYC and work in the world of broadcasting. The pay was too low, but that dream of living in NYC wouldn’t go away… so I turned to the fashion industry and found myself immersed full-steam-ahead in the world of Donna Karan. My dream of being “Katie Couric” didn’t go away, which was probably the toughest pill to swallow at that time. I knew realistically that now was not the time, but someway… somehow… I was determined to still get myself there. Working for Donna Karan as a personal assistant made me realize 3 things very quickly at the age of 22 – 1) Money got you things in NYC. Money got you LOTS of things in NYC 2) Being fabulous in NYC opened lots of doors for you 3) NYC was not a place for people who were timid and shy, you needed to be a go-getter.

NYC was my home from 5 years. I loved NYC. I worked my butt of in NYC. I never made it to 30 Rock, but I did find my niche and my work home at Donna Karan and I liked it. I discovered a love of writing while working for Donna Karan. I would sit on the bus every single morning (because I was terrified of subways) and write in my journal. It was all stream of consciousness, I just let my pen flow until it stopped or until it was time for me to get off the bus. This was when my dream of maybe-I’m-a-writer started. The reality of not being on TV started to set in, but a new reality of writing started to fill my soul. NYC was looking better and better for me, I was finding more of myself and who I was and who I wanted to be.

My life started to really fall into place.

My dream of becoming a wife came true. I married my college sweetheart while living in NYC.

My dream of becoming a mother came true. I experienced 2 pregnancies and births in NYC, my William and Alex.

NYC was very good to us. We were living in a gorgeous apartment right in Columbus Circle. It had a doorman, which always carried “status” weight in NYC, I laugh thinking that I was even impressed by that so many years ago. I became a full-time mom in 2004 and 2005. It was a dream I never knew I had until motherhood hit me. All of a sudden I didn’t want to leave my kids. I wanted to be home. I wanted to be there for everything.

Being “Katie Couric?” Nope.

Being fabulous in NYC? Nope.

Living in a penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park? (I would’ve loved it, but NOPE).

I wanted to be there for my kids. All the dreams I had growing up… they suddenly didn’t seem important anymore. Nothing was more important than William and Alex.

I couldn’t believe the switch.

I had one “tiny” (OK, gigantic) problem… I needed to still generate an income. My husband was doing well, but we knew it wouldn’t be enough for me to never go back to work. I needed to do something.

And then… something else started to happen. I wanted out of NYC. I wanted a front lawn for my kids. I wanted a school bus for them. I wanted a house for them. I knew that these things weren’t a reality for us in NYC because we weren’t making enough money to make anything like that come true. My dream of living in NYC started to fade quickly. I wanted to give my kids the kind of childhood I had and my husband had when we were kids, full on suburbs.

My dreams started to shift.

I turned to the blogging world in 2005-2006.

And then MomGenerations.com was “born” in June 2008.

Social media was just taking off at this time and writing had really just become something I fell in love with and wanted to continue with. Not to mention – it was easy for me to share about myself and my kids and my motherhood experiences. I didn’t have to search for content, every single day was a new day filled with something to write about, something to discover.

I’m going to fast forward 10 years right now. There’s been a ton happen within the last 10 years for our family, but I wanted to bring it back to DREAMING.

When do you stop dreaming?

I say never.

That young girl who wanted to be Katie Couric, she’s still in there.

That young woman who wanted to take on NYC, she’s still in there.

The dream changed and morphed as life took place, but “she’s” still in there… dreaming big and wanting big things.

I might not dream of living in the Hamptons during the summer anymore.

I might not dream of jetting off with Matt to Bora Bora on a whim anymore.

I might not dream of being (now) Savannah Guthrie or Hoda Kotb anymore. (OK, maybe a little)

I might not dream of having a town car with a driver anymore.

I don’t dream of those things anymore, but dreams ARE still important to have and to go after. Dreams are still important to have as goals. Dreams are still important to wish for and strive for in life.

I want my kids to dream big and to teach them that and show them that, I will continue to share my dreams with them.

Dreams are something we ALL have the right to have and to experience and go after.

Dreams are what keep many of us moving forward and building bigger and smarter and greater.

Dreams should never stop.

So right now… think of a big DREAM for yourself… and go make it come true!

 

 

About Audrey

Audrey McClelland has been a digital influencer since 2005. She’s a mom of 5 and shares tips on her three favorite things: parenting, fashion and beauty. She’s also a Contemporary Romance Author.

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8 Comments

  1. 5.7.18
    Dana Rodriguez said:

    Great post! Never stop dreaming! 🙂

  2. 5.7.18
    Roxann said:

    Dreams may change as time goes by but you should always have something that you dream of and do everything in your power to make it happen.

  3. 5.8.18
    wen budro said:

    Hopefully- I never stop dreaming. I find that as I age- some dreams or goals just naturally fall away. So- it feels fine that they leave……it doesn’t feel like a forced loss.

  4. 5.10.18
    Lissa Crane said:

    What a fabulous post! It’s so nice to hear someone reconfirm that just because we get a little older and have a career and kiddo’s, that dreaming isn’t over!

  5. 5.13.18
    Lindsay A. said:

    This really struck a chord, I love it… 🙂 Such an important message, thank you!!

  6. 5.13.18
    Casey Garvey said:

    I try think I will never stop dreaming.But my dreams may just become more realistic! I cant wait to see what Im dreaming for in 10 years. Right now I want to live in a tiny house.

  7. 5.21.18
    Jenna Hudson said:

    What inspiration! Sad that we often stop dreaming as adults.

  8. 5.22.18
    Kelly Hanley said:

    I try not to stop dreaming!

Comments are closed.