Some time ago, someone I had once considered a mentor told me that she was disappointed in my lack of "big dreams". She told me of the huge potential she saw in me since the day she met me. She told me of the grand plans she had in mind for me. But I somehow never reached those dreams, – and I'm supposed to be ashamed.

Those words gnawed at me for a long time. I wasn't thinking about it every day, but I knew something had unsettled in me since that day. A huge question mark surfaced from the very core of my soul... when I found my answer.

Whose dreams had I really been trying to live?

They certainly weren't mine. I realised then that that was the only reason why I never felt fulfilled nor free. Someone else's idea of success had been imbued in me, that I was trying to to live up to those ideals. The ideals that weren't mine. As a result, I had given up my own sense of happiness.

I told this person I can no longer call a mentor that I'd never dreamed of publishing an award-winning novel or giving a TED Talk or running my own business. No, that's not what success or happiness means to me. I set myself small milestones, which to me are perfectly realistic and achievable, rather than setting myself up for disappointment with ridiculous expectations. I'm perfectly content with taking baby steps, because to me, the learning is in the journey. The destination doesn't really interest me that much. Nothing in the future is certain anyway.

It was only when I had come to terms with this myself, that I felt peace. I needed to assure myself that my dreams, no matter how small, matter too. No one has the right to say otherwise, and if you let your life's path be at the mercy of someone else, then you'll only have yourself to blame at the end of the day.

So own your dreams, because they're yours. Small dreams are worth having too.

thank you

I dream small and that's okay