dreams and wishes. 62/365 (Photo credit: nicole.pierce.photography ♥)
Maybe it’s just me, but I would imagine many of us have dreams which are, let’s just say, a tad bit over imaginative to make actually ever realizing one of them impossible. I will admit to having one of these rather impossible, kind of irrational, dreams. I would love to be in the movies. Now I am not talking as the lead or even a supporting character. In fact, I don’t even have to have a single line. My dream is so much more lofty then this. I would like to be a sort of “Where’s Waldo” of the movie world, only without the silly red and white hat obviously. I would like to be a part of as many movies as possible, standing somewhere in the background of a pivotal scene. To fly down to New Zealand, dress up as a hobbit or elf in Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit”, then head to an L.A. sound stage the next day, where I would get to walk down the hallway on some movie set right behind some famous actor like, say, Channing Tatum or Brad Pitt. I want to get in a shot that doesn’t end up on the cutting room floor and I want to do it over and over and over again. How much fun would a career like that be?
There are many problems I foresee with my dream to be the Movie Extra Queen of the Hollywood. For one, I don’t think production companies fly extra’s around the world just to stand in a movie shot for the day. I rather imagine they are much more economical, asking for the locals to come out and spend the day standing around in the background of various movie scenes. Another hiccup to my dream is even if I could get a production company to fly me around from movie set to movie set, I don’t think I could make a career off this simply because I don’t think extra’s are even paid, or if they are it would be pocket change and nowhere near enough to make a living on. But, what is probably my largest problem with this dream rests on my end. I am terrified of flying. I hate it. I avoid it at all costs. So I would have to somehow conquer this fear if I am to fly all over the world for this gig. But, wouldn’t it be so freaking fun to be “That Girl” who always shows up somewhere in countless Hollywood films?
So, you can see there are quite a few roadblocks in my way, but what struck me the most in writing this post is the notion that my dream is actually somewhat achievable if I remove the unrealistic bits and deconstruct it down to the nitty gritty reasons I have this dream in the first place. I found by listing out each component of the dream, it helped me sort out the parts of it that are possible. Ultimately, I learned quite a bit about myself and was even able to acknowledge some of my own personal roadblocks in life that I’ve built up over the years. Ok, so here’s my list of personal discoveries from this deconstruction process.
1. I love to travel and having this fear of flying has really held me back. I would really like to see more of this beautful world of ours and only traveling to places I can drive to isn’t going to cut it. Don’t get me wrong, I have flown many times in my life but it is getting less and less as the years go by and my fear intensifies. I have gone on a total of three round tip flights in the last 10 years, we’ve driven to all our other vacation destinations. Thankfully, I am already in the process of conquering this fear. My husband and I are planning to take a tropical vacation! It will be my very first international trip. As much as I am worried about the getting there and back process, I can’t wait to take control of my fear and show it who’s boss. Oh, and lounging around on a white sand beach, sipping Pina Colada’s all day is excellent motivation! (Of course, this wouldn’t be my post if I didn’t have a song pop into my head and pause for a quick listen. “Do you like Pina Colada’s?”)
2. Even though it wouldn’t work for my particular dream, the fact that my dream doesn’t involve me starring in a feature film is something I started to wonder about. Why wouldn’t I want to do this? It is a dream isn’t it, and I should dream big, right? In fact this dream fits very well with my personality. I am very comfortable being in the background and not drawing too much attention to myself. I’ve always been the quiet, shy type. These past few years I have been testing the waters a bit more outside of this zone I’ve built around myself, thereby widening my comfort zone. For example, a few years ago I volunteered to take on a leadership role for a local coalition, sitting on the executive board. Every part of me was saying don’t do it but I resisted and it was a great, worthwhile experience. It even involved a time where I had to stand up in front of a microphone and address about 80 people off the cuff, no script! I was sweating bullets but I did it and more importantly I survived to tell the tale. 🙂 The best part of my experience in a leadership role is discovering there is plenty of room for quiet leaders. A leader doesn’t have to be the most loud, outgoing and boisterous person in the room. Having learnt this, my plan is to continue pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone and experience life to my fullest potential. Just because I am an adult and somewhat stuck in my ways doesn’t mean I am done growing up. There is always room for personal improvement!
3. As far as the whole movie part of this dream….well….there is not a whole lot I can do about getting on a movie set in the not so distant future. I live nowhere near L.A. or NYC. However, although not common in Nebraska, movies are from time to time made here. The next time a movie is in the area and puts out a call for extra’s I’ll make it a point to show up for the experience. One of my favorite features on DVD’s these days is the Behind the Scenes stuff. I’ve always been fascinated with the movie making process itself. This would be a great way to see, up close & personal, the making of a movie.
I hope this post will challenge you to deconstruct your own impossible dream and make it possible!
~Chrissy
Once Upon a Friendship 