A New Motto

A few weeks ago, I was doing something I find myself doing quite often--daydreaming. I was sitting on the couch, with the television on and my web browser of choice open on the laptop in front of me. But my attention wasn't directed toward either of those, as it should have been. Instead, my mind was drifting; wandering to the plot holes I wrestle with, the "what-ifs" that direct my stories, and the words that will make it all come alive.

I like to think that every story has this one line that defines the entire novel. It's the line that you see quoted, over and over again. The line that people get tattooed on the back of their necks, that they scrawl on a scrap of loose leaf and stick on their bedroom wall. That line could be the title; so blatantly obvious that it might as well be highlighted in every copy. That line could be hidden; as eye-popping as the other hundreds of thousands of words that form the story playing out in your mind. Either way, the meaning is the same; it sets the tone for the entire story.

I get my story ideas from endless resources; my dreams, my favourite books or movies, my own life and experiences. I take one little thing from my life and the world around me, and expand it into something bigger.

Sometimes, though, my stories branch from something much simpler: one line. One single line, that expresses a message that I wish to convey through story. This line will often come to me when I'm bumming around, zoning out and in general not paying as much attention as I should be to my surroundings. My mind wanders, stumbles upon a phrase, and the phrase...sticks. It sticks and the next thing I know I'm writing it down, eagerly scribbling it in my journal, so quickly that the words don't followed the lines quite perfectly.

So when I was zoning out last month, completely ignoring my surroundings, a phrase popped into my head. Except this time, it wasn't really a line you could insert into a novel. It wasn't one inspirational, emotionally moving line that would set the tone of whatever future story that my mind would unravel. It was more like...a motto.

Dare to dream big. Live to dream bigger.

The moment it popped into my head, it just felt...right. It felt like everything I've tried to believe in, throughout my whole life, wrapped up into two little sentences; 8 little words.

Dare to dream big. Don't be afraid of having "realistic" goals or career plans. Dare to aim for something out of your wallet's comfort zone; something that might not be achieved with the help of a college degree. If people think less of you for it, prove them wrong. That is your motivation; use it.

Live to dream bigger. Don't settle; don't stop at just one dream. Let yourself have two, five, ten. A thousand. Reach one, make another. As your life changes around you, let your dreams change with it. Don't stop. Never stop. If you think you've reached the top, prove yourself otherwise. Because even when you reach the sky, there are still endless stars waiting for you beyond it.

This phrase has become my motto; the thing I repeat to myself when I start to struggle and feel down. It helps me a little, I think. It helps me remember why I've kept at it for so long; why I left university in the first place. (Which is why I have it typed at the end of my new and improved About Me page.)

I've always wanted a motto. And now, I have one; one that is completely, totally, wholeheartedly me.


Until later,

- Justyne