Dreams

This happened awhile ago, and I wrote about it but never published it. Here it is.




Everyone has dreams. They vary from person to person, but we still all have them.

Your dreams are sacred, they're personal, and they're desperately important to you. Or so I thought.

I had a Sunday School teacher once who was concerned about all of us girls getting married. (Surprise) You could count on every single lesson ending with, "One day when you girls are married" or, "When you're in a special marital relationship" or my personal favorite, "Girls, never, ever settle for second best in a man. Always hold out for the best." Now while all of these comments are their own issue, and therefore deserve their own post, the last one was the best.
When the teacher would say that, she would discuss what important qualities you needed to hold out for in a man. Godliness, Fundamentalism, and so on. She would look around at our table, and tell us not to settle. I remember one particular time when she asked me during the class, if I had made a commitment to never settle for second best. I nodded my head seriously and told her, "Yes, and that's why I'm still holding out for a millionaire." The comment brought exactly the reaction it was designed to do: the other girls laughed, and the teacher shot me an evil glare. But I was joking.


I was talking to a girl at work. We were discussing dreams. She, like everyone else has them. I won't tell you what her dreams were, because that is not my place. But they were real dreams. You could tell they were important to her. You could tell that she wanted them. You could tell that she had thought about them.
You could tell that they meant something to her. I just listened. I agreed with the dreams that I understood, and explained why I wasn't interested in the other ones.
I thought the conversation was done, that we were moving on to other things, and then suddenly out she came with this:

"You know the real difference between you and me Joanna?"
"You like Carrie Underwood, and I can't stand her?"
"No. Although, that's true. The real difference between us is that I can't see you giving up your dreams for anyone, or anything. But even though I have certain dreams, I would give up every single one of them if I could just marry someone with money."
"Even -insert her biggest dream here-?"
"Yes. I'd give them all up for money."
"Well, is this man everything you want in a man?"
"He doesn't have to be, he just has to have money."

I really didn't have a response. I thought everyone treasured their dreams. I thought they were important to everybody. But I was wrong. She was serious, she was so serious. And it was scary. I was scared.



I don't really have a conclusion to this post, because I don't really know what to say. I do have questions though.

Is comfort really the greatest dream?

Are people really willing to put everything else aside, just for comfort?

Is money really going to give comfort?

What kind of dream is it, that it's easily forgotten?

Am I really unwilling to give up my dreams for "anyone or anything"?

Is that wrong?

What would I give up for money?

How important are your dreams?

What would you give up to make your dreams happen?