The Definition of A Dream Fulfilled

Being the planner that I am, in high school I started a very detailed list of things I wanted to accomplish before I turned 30. One of those things was to be the next Katie Couric or Diane Sawyer, (my role models throughout high school and college). What can I say? I’ve been known to set my standards pretty high.

As it would be, my experience in broadcast journalism lasted just through my second college internship with a FOX affiliate in Rochester, Minnesota. Come graduation, I’d been told to submit my tapes to the station for a possible job. But as I reviewed my tapes, I kept hearing the words of my mentor from an earlier internship. “You have to love it,” she’d told me. And she did. But did I? When it came down to it, I loved aspects of it. The variety of material, the rush of a late-breaking story, the fast-paced nature of the business. But I realized I didn’t love telling stories through sound bytes and B-roll as much as I did through pen and paper.

Today, I received the nicest email from a woman I interviewed a few months ago for a story that ran in a local women’s interest magazine.

“We would just like to thank you for the wonderful article in the magazine this month. You really captured the story and the essence of our trip.”

Lately, I’ve been wondering if I made the right decision six years ago...or did I give up on my dream to soon out of self-doubt and fear? But that one little sentence, “You really captured the story and the essence of our trip” reconfirmed my belief in my decision.

Merriam-Webster defines a “journalist” as “a person engaged in journalism, especially a writer or editor for a news medium; a writer who aims at a mass audience.”

Huh. Funny, but that sort of sounds like me. I didn’t give up on my dream after all. On the contrary, I’ve been living it since my very first published byline. I just hadn’t noticed my growing collection of clips because I was too busy focusing on whether or not I’d made the right decision.

So what about you? Like me, have you been so focused on the should’ve, would’ve and could’ves of your life to fully embrace and celebrate those many stepping stone momentsbrought you to where you are today? 

Dreams aren’t a one-size only commodity. They come in a range of sizes, shapes and colors, and they aren't required to be flashy or expensive or carry any level of prestige (perceived or real). They are who you are. ake a moment to recognize each and every one for what they are and where they have brought you.

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