Sometimes, when we miss each other too much, my best friends and I would talk about our future. It’s a little like facing our fears because we are terrified to think of what the future holds for us. Countless nights spent panicking about choosing the right college or career. It’s one of our biggest fears, maybe only after our fear of Pennywise the clown.
Right now, we are in the part of life where we have to leave behind our childhood and I’m not ready to say goodbye yet. So we would dream silly things about our future. It eases off the pressure and keeps existential crises at bay.
So, we imagine our future. Studying a subject we love, surrounded by people who care about us and being happy. Happy, happy, happy. Going on a road trip. Sharing a house filled with books. I’m still convincing them to get five cats.
This sounds a little like the story of the milkmaid and her dreams. The one where she has a pail of milk on her head and she starts fantasizing about selling the milk, buying hens, getting profit from their eggs and becoming rich. Unfortunately, her milk and her dreams come crashing down when she trips and falls. The story ends and we are told to stop building castles in the air.
Despite that abrupt ending, I’ve decided that there’s more to it. In spite of that accident, the milkmaid later gets up. She brushes off the dust and takes the empty pail back to her farm. In spite of her setback, she would come back the next day with her milk and walk towards her dreams again. I think this is a worthy addition to the tale because there’s nothing wrong with revelling in your daydreams once in while. And it also reminds us that even if you get waylaid, you can always start over again.
That is how I want it to be. I know over these years, there will be a lot of fallen trees and unclosed potholes disrupting my path forward. But I also know that I can make my way through them with the people I love by my side and my dreams to look forward to.
So, ten years from now, I hope I would have spent the time giving back to the universe for what it gave me with this life.
