MyTeenageDreamWas
Blog Post 4 - #MyTeenageDreamWas
Yesterday on Twitter, #MyTeenageDreamWas, was briefly in the top trending topics. Exactly as it sounds, the hashtag serves as a remembrance of all things (good, bad and silly) that we have dreamt about in our teen years. As I scrolled through the Tweets I felt a variety of impressions including sadness, inspiration, hope, nostalgia and, of course, laughter. Some people shared updates that they were doing exactly what they dreamed. Others expressed disappointment in themselves for giving up their passions. And some took the moment to shed light on their lighthearted, carefree or absolutely ridiculous fantasies like raising their Tamagotchi to adulthood (pssh, talk about unrealistic amiright?).
After spending way too much time browsing the hashtag, I forced myself to unplug and reflect. Anytime something snags my attention for longer than expected I try to search within and think about why exactly it resonated with me. My thoughts brought me to 3 major conclusions.
Manifestation can be slow - and that’s okay
Dreams can be extremely fragile.. or extremely resilient
Most of us need to schedule regular serious check ins with our Teenage or Younger Self
Each of these conclusions helped me identify something within myself that needs improvement. Being a firm believer in the idea that we are all products of our environment, I figured there HAS to be more people who would appreciate these thoughts.
Manifestation
I define Manifestation as simply speaking or believing something into physical reality. Everything starts in our minds and spoken words have even more creative potential. When we combine these powers we have the ability to form an infinite number of realities within our daily lives. It’s like growing or birthing something solely through “unseen” energy.
Seeing thousands of people display current day manifestations of thoughts, beliefs and feelings they had years ago served as a humbling reminder that manifestation does not always work overnight. Sometimes it takes years or centuries and that does not take away from it’s brilliance at all! On the contrary, a longer time to success seems to actually make it even sweeter.
Framing it this way really mattered for me because recently it seemed like my manifestation ability was just not working! Some plans for SylviaPaints were not moving along as fast as my mind was and right when the discouragement was kicking in, the Universe hit me with a dose of synchronicity by placing this hashtag directly in my path.
The success testimonies seen on Twitter today were illustrations that if you stay committed, desires will come to you in due time. Here I was feeling inpatient about situations that have only had one weeks time in the making and yet I can still remember dreams from my teen years (over ten years ago) that are only just now manifesting. With a power as beautiful as manifestation, we need to remind ourselves that IT. TAKES. TIME.
There was a certain irony of this message being sent to me through Twitter. In a space where instantaneous news and a sense of immediacy or fleeting topics run rampant, I realized that I needed to slow down. If you believe that our digital world has made you feel rushed, I hope you take some time to combat that pressure and unpack how it may be affecting you. Manifestation is not the only thing that takes time - healing, engagement, love, learning and growth also take time.
Dreams and their Fragility
Contrasting the Tweets showing success were the Tweets showing remorse, regret or disappointment. These were the people who looked back on their young aspirations and did not like how their current reality aligned. This caused me to reflect on what dreams I did not pursue, of course, but it also caused me to reflect on what factors in our environments made that difference. Why am I still chasing some dreams relentlessly and others, which used to be just as important, not so much?
My first thought was peer influence and how that moved or killed certain dreams. Which wasn't too much of a groundbreaking conclusion for me. But what was mind opening was realizing the kinds of interactions that killed certain dreams. It wasn’t always people directly attacking an idea. Sometimes it was simply lack of support when it was spoken. Or an inability to find the correct guidance or information on a goal. Sometimes it was even a mere look someone gave me when they heard my aspiration. So sensitive, right?
But then again, several people have had poor responses to hearing about my goal of living as an artist and yet here I am. Still trying to support myself solely as an artist *siigh*. So what gives? Why do some dreams seem to be bulletproof and others as fragile as eggshells? That’s probably a philosophical question with no definite answer but it helped reinforce a practice that I’ve attempted for awhile - From here on out I am responding to everyone’s ideas with caution and tenderness. No matter how ridiculous or sarcastic it may sound to me I am proceeding with support and direction until told otherwise.
I think it is a civic duty to be present and mindful when someone shares their dreams with you. You never know your response could implement a butterfly effect and change the future, for better or for worse!
Younger Self Check Ins
Characteristic of Twitter, most of the Tweets contained lighthearted humor and/or focused on a less serious perspective of the dreams they had. Celebrity crushes they wanted to marry, bizarre or seemingly unlikely feats they wanted to accomplish, goals that seem redundant now. I don’t think they were intended to be taken very seriously but they did prompt a serious idea for me.
There is something very important about the way we would dream in our youth. There was a magical energy to it that is key in dream manifestation. Most of us would daydream about these desires and really tap into our imagination skills. Dreaming of marrying Chris Brown may not seem so important but the daydreams about him were strengthening our mental muscles. The little shrine my best friend had of Breezy may have been silly (or creepy) but it was a physical reminder to exercise her visualization abilities. We lose so much of our ability to manifest when we are not practicing it in its full potential.
Considering the fact that “dreamer” is a core part of my identity, I did not realize how much I had given up dreaming. As a matter of fact, my entire focus right now, building my art business, is all about chasing the ultimate dream I’ve had since I can remember - Thriving as an artist. So overall I would not rate myself as someone who has a problem with following my dreams. But this hashtag triggered all kinds of memories long forgotten and woke up that part of myself that still remembered.
I realized, I still dream but I used to DREAM.
I used to be dramatic and ridiculous in what I believed I could do. I would truly shoot for the stars and be loud about it. But somewhere along the way, I toned it down. I decided that being sensible and “realistic” was more important for goal setting. I stopped being so vocal about my dreams after developing this idea that they needed to be protected from outside energy. I started holding them close and not really sharing them because of all those times someone crushed them. But now I’m wondering if maybe this wasn’t the best solution. Concealing your dreams may be protecting them but it is also preventing you from living them as boldly as possible. Dreaming them without vocalization hinders on your full ability to manifest them! Maybe the best solution and protection against outside attack is not concealment but developing better confidence about your dreams so that they are not susceptible to such corruption.
Seeing all these people be vocal about their dreams was a refreshing reminder of how so few people are vocal about it anymore. A lot of my peers seem to be secretive about goals unless they’ve already been accomplished. Probably for the same reasons I listed above. But #MyTeenageDreamWas reminded me that sharing our dreams doesn’t just benefit ourselves, it serves to inspire others!
As a dual serving solution I think we need to start by scheduling regular conversations with our younger selves. Isolate yourself in a room for some time and Imagine 15 year old you, in all her glorious 2000s Baby Phat gear, sitting in front of you. As she rolls her eyes (because of course she has better things to do) tell her OUT LOUD what you are doing right now to achieve her dreams and be honest with yourself about what she says back. For the dreams that were not sensible, find a way to redirect them so that the momentum of that dream is not wasted. Not only is this exercising that imagination muscle, it’s getting back in touch with who you were before the world changed you, how to be adaptive in the face of adversary instead of deserting your dreams and it’s practicing how we can TALK about our dreams with others.
Conclusion
With everything going on right now we have to start not only living for ourselves but living for each other! The current events surrounding coronavirus, racism, police brutality, immigration and poor leadership should be showing us that we can NOT continue with a strictly individualistic care of the world. We must all do our part in recognizing how all of our actions have consequences and that we are all connected. I think correcting the way that we dream TOGETHER is a great place to start in manifesting a better future.
#MyTeenageDreamWas a world where people weren’t afraid to dream. Let’s all help build that reality.
Sylvia Sykes