Editor's Note: This is a post from Edwina Storie, a freelance journalist based in Sydney, Australia who recently quit her full-time job in pursuit of her dream to be a freelance writer. Since then, she has contributed to ABC's Radio National, GQ and international magazine Renegade Collective.
It was last Monday afternoon at about 2:30 when I realised I was living my dream. And it was not at all what I had imagined.
Until Monday I thought dreams were one big goal that all culminated into a single moment where you know, this is it. This is your dream - everything you’ve failed at, struggled for and overcome has contributed to this realisation.
I thought dreams were major accomplishments like giving a thank you speech for winning an Oscar or buying a waterfront investment property. I thought dreams were very specific goals that you put on a vision board or a ten-year career plan.
But my idea of what a dream is has recently become a little blurred.
Blurred dreams. Photo credit: Madhya (Flickr Creative Commons)
A few months ago I quit my full-time job to be a freelance writer. Dumb decision many would say - myself included - but something the universe gave me quite a public kick up the pants to do. But we’ll leave that story for another post themed ‘life lessons’.
So back to Monday.
I was sitting with Leanne Whitehouse, the founder of the Whitehouse Institute of Design, hearing about her journey from being Jamaica’s female windsailing champion to packing up her bags, returning to Sydney, and opening the institute as a single mother in the ’80s – a time when business was still very much a man’s world and single mothers could rarely get a bank loan.
Before her hiatus as a windsailing champion, she had been teaching at the National School of Arts through her 20s in Australia. But one morning, when she was 28 and working her dream job as the acting head of the institute, she felt it was all too simple – that she didn’t want this to be all that her life was.
So she sold her car and house, gave up the job, and hitched a ride to New York. “I learnt to work,” she told me. “I learnt to really work.” She earned her place in America amid the 250 million people competing for success. That was, until she miraculously perfected windsailing for a few years, then suddenly knew it was time to go back to Australia.
A few years after she’d returned, she wanted to move on from her husband and start her own design school. Her husband to whom she was pregnant at the time was a successful businessman, and they had built up the whole white picket fence dream – but the one that’s based on Sydney’s waterfront property, complete with a pool man and manicured garden.
Despite knowing the hardship she was about to face, she went ahead with it. They separated and she withdrew her $1,300 superannuation to place a magazine ad for the soon-to-be fashion school. “It was very hard taking my baby daughter from all the luxury into my poverty stricken life,” she said. But 25 years on, Whitehouse has become one of Australia’s most prestigious design colleges, having churned out some of our internationally recognised fashion labels.
Now, Leanne is not my idol, although I certainly can idolise her drive. But her stories – now that is what I love.
There is something about a good story that sends energy through my veins and makes my feet itchy. It’s as though it turns the volume of life up a notch and make me excited for what’s possible.
And sitting there interviewing this wonderful woman I realised - this is it. This was my dream – having the opportunity to hear and articulate other people’s stories.
Edwina in action. Photo credit: edwinastorie.com
But it didn’t have the sheen that I expected that one moment to have, because it isn’t just one moment. I realised that your dream, or at least mine, is an epiphany. It’s a realisation of being in a situation that feels entirely aligned with all your passions, and that you feel completely encompassed by. It doesn’t necessarily have an award attached to it, or a dollar figure, or a major investment.
And that’s what living a life less ordinary is to me – not necessarily just yearning for the big dreams with all the shine and glamour, but taking a risk and enjoying the unexpected epiphanies that make you realise, this is it - even when it’s not what you were expecting.
Can you relate to Edwina's story? Did you realize that a dream or life change wasn't just one moment but the culmination of events creating a change in situation? And what does living a life less ordinary actually mean to you?
Share your comments with Edwina and I below.
ABOUT THE AUTHOREdwina Storie
A freelance journalist, journal keeper and ideas addict, Edwina is fascinated by the weirdness of the world, the rhythm of words, and the unusual interests that connect underground online communities - a niche of a niche.For Edwina, living a life less ordinary is about asking intriguing questions that lead you down unexpected paths - whether that be of conversation or adventure. She follows the crowd at @edwina_storie and writes at edwinastorie.com.
Sign-up for Free Blog Updates Direct to your Inbox
