-Too Tired to Get the American Dream

When was the last time you were in a bakery? Or a chocolate shop? Standing in front of the selection, looking at everything there is to choose from, trying to decide what looks best. Walking back and forth past the glass, imagining what will be most delicious. It can almost be overpowering, attempting to figure out the best choice. Sometimes it is hard to pick just one or two, and you begin to think you could take it all; you begin to want it all. You could always just take one of everything, eat until you are overly content and then regret it all an hour later. Then comes the recovery work out, an empty attempt to undo the damages. So all you end up with is extra calories and exhaustion from a post workout frenzy. What seemed like such a nice thing just ends up costing you and leaving you more tired then when you started out. If trying to decide upon a simple cookie or coconut crème truffle can possibly lead to this kind of trouble just think what the bigger issues could induce. Trying to decide upon whether to go for the extra hours at work, more minutes to study for class, more free time to connect with friends or more efforts committed to trying to build a relationship; sure we can have it all, but is having it all too much to handle?
Although the American Dream has been changed, modified and redone more times then Meg Ryan’s face it still does exist, and for the most part it still means having it all. These days it is just a little more personal and individual, but most people still have some semblance of a life they are trying to achieve. Chances are it is a life filled with occupations, obligations and lots of occurrences. At this point in time we are supposed to be focusing on academics. Pursuing a higher education is almost mandated upon us, it is built into our age appropriate American life so that it can lead us to the coveted American Dream. Last I checked though, college can be one long exhausting mess. With deadlines, due dates and daily journals it is far too easy to get lost inside of it. Then there are those of us who also have to feed our bank accounts, which is another thing that takes our time and can consume us. Even if the economy weren’t on the edge of destruction, it is still far too easy to get tired out from bringing in money. So with those two exhaustions taking up our time it is hard to fit in any other occurrences, either planned or unplanned. Sure it is important to prepare for the future and work towards our dreams, but are we going to be able to stay awake if we ever reach them? Sometimes it seems like we will be too tried out from working for it to ever have the chance to enjoy it.
Who said having it all was the most important thing anyways? I think going for a few things and having them be perfect is far better then going for everything and having it all be mundane. Maybe they were right when they said “less is more”, maybe the fewer things you have to worry about the better. I have found that getting everything you wanted, or coming close to that, can be more tiring then being without it. Inevitably there will be that moment, amidst the euphoria of living out your American Dream, where you begin to think what a nightmare it would be to lose it all and how tired you are from holding it together. Sure I have dreams, but I want to be awake to enjoy them, so I try to keep it basic. Who wants it all, when all you really need it love. That is the ultimate dream, isn’t it? Love is what gives you energy, makes you get out of bed in the morning. Love is what keeps you awake when all you want to do is pass out. So yes, we can have it all, but I can’t even keep a plant alive so having it all is not that appealing. I am aiming to have love, that one thing that makes you feel like you have it all.

-Who Are You Wearing?

That is the question that scary woman on the red carpet always asks. Then whatever famous person she is gripping onto gives a reply, explaining how it is some fabulous piece that they just knew they had to have the moment they saw it. Said famous person probably spent weeks and weeks figuring out what to decide on and which one to finally pick, then right when they gave up all hope they saw it and everything just clicked. They knew before they even tried it on. They knew before they saw it reflected in a mirror. They knew it was the perfect fit because their instincts told them. That is what you should wear. That is what you should put on to look your best and feel you’re sexiest. Sometimes we get chances like that, those of us of a lesser celebrity stature. We too sometimes get to find the perfect thing to put on. I could be talking about those perfect pair of 511 Levi skinny jeans, or that vintage Christian Dior trench that was made for you, or that oversized grandpa sweater that hangs on you just right; or I could be talking about that special someone. Sometimes we have to ask ourselves who are we wearing.
Looking for the right person is a lot like shopping; it can be time consuming, exhausting, take longer then you expected and cost you a whole lot. When you get involved with someone at the beginning it is a lot like trying something on for the first time. You go to that certain place where the lighting is better then it should be, the mirrors are placed with strategic intent and if it all looks bad you can slip out easily. If it does fit nicely and feel good then you have to weigh the situation. Should you just go ahead and buy it? Can you afford it right now? Will it last you more then one season? Should you save up or do some comparison shopping? The last thing you want to do is make an impulse purchase; last time I checked you can’t just return a boyfriend. So if you decided the credit is good and the price tag is fitting you go ahead and buy it. Now you have to combine it with the rest of your wardrobe, creating new outfits and making sure it goes with more then just one thing. When you decide to date someone you have to make sure they can be for more then one occasion, you have to try and combine them with the rest of your life; you have to wear them into your life. Suppose you are already wearing the jeans of your life, paired with the shoes of your past the t-shirt of your future and a sweater threaded by your friends; finding someone to match with all of that is a tricky thing. Even Stacey and Clinton would have some troubles.
The point is we are wearing more then we realize. All of our past relationships, both good and bad, are still clothing us. When we wake up in the morning and stand in front of our closets we don’t realize everything we are putting on, we are dressed up in all of our past lovers. It could be a figurative button down gifted by an old girlfriend. It could be a metaphoric itchy turtleneck left by a bad boyfriend. It could be a shirt that is too tight now and reminds you of how trapped you felt. Or maybe it is that perfect little piece you leave hanging in the back corner, which you take out only sometimes because it still smells like the love that got away. We are wearing more then we think we are which is why we should really think about it before we try to get naked with someone. You can’t really be intimate with another person unless you trust them to take off all the clothes you put on and all the clothes that other people put on.
So next time you check yourself in the mirror before you leave the house, make sure you know who you are wearing; and what it means to really take it all off.