Ask anyone i know and they'll probably tell you that I'm a bit of a dreamer. It's never been too far fetched for me to imagine being handed an Oscar by Steven Spielberg or to win best country album over 8 time Grammy winners, The Oak Ridge Boys. My genetic predisposition was passed down from the ultimate dreamer, my father. He lived a life unlike any other Filipino man i knew. Instead of embracing the stability of a 9-5 and simply living the immigrants dream of owning a home and working in the medical field, he opted to play drums in a band, own a disco in Jersey City, invest in an orphanage in the Philippines, open a restaurant in the Village, and make the best damn t-bone steak you've ever had! At 48, his vibrant life came to an end but he might as well have lived to be 102 since there wasn't much he hadn't already done.
What I've come to accept is that there's no amount of money or possession that could ever replace the spirit of chance and hope that I've inherited from being his child. I relish the idea of endless possibilities and always strive to live like I'm in my 90's. My greatest wish is that one day when my daughter inherently blogs in her 30's that she'll proudly proclaim that she's a bit of a dreamer herself. The legacy lives on. Are you living the dream? Who's inspired you? Do tell....
First off, LOVE YOUR DAD! Second, I'm like you, it's my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents that most inspire me. My grandmother got on a boat with her 4-year-old daughter, thinking it would take her to a place with literal streets of gold. Her disappointment was brief as she saw that her bare feet would once again walk on dirt roads here in Hawaii. Soon afterward, however, she saw all the possiblities her new life afforded her and her daughter. It's that positive, go-get-'em attitude of my forefathers (and mothers) that I admire.
ReplyDeleteles, never knew those things about your father... funny you inherently talk about being a chance taker--you fall right in that category, girl! i've dreamt big but taken small chances in my life but in the end, i don't regret any of my choices... as they were after all, my choices. keep writing... i look forward to it... now, i just gotta get off my fb surfing & gaming/twitter updating arse and start updating my blogs again! you're inspring... know that...
ReplyDelete