Close your eyes... Imagine that you are 22 years old... Dream my dreams... Now open your eyes.... and read on....
I have had what most people would call a wonderful childhood. My mother never spanked me, except for two times when I had really driven her crazy, my father is a loving man with tons of patience, my sister has always been there for me, my grandmother loves me so much that I believe she would gladly cut off her right arm if I told her to. I never became a spoiled brat, because I never could ask for anything outright, I was always too shy or too afraid of losing my mother's affection if I did something wrong. I never lacked anything... Always had clothes to wear, always had a good meal, always could find a hug to hide in...
Yet, I am not happy... You'll probably say that old saying that goes "money can't buy happiness"... well, I don't blame you... It really cannot buy happiness... No matter how much food I eat, if I don't dream, I'm dead... No matter how many sweaters or T-shirts I own, if I don't dream, my body and soul are cold... No matter how much love I receive, if I don't dream, I'm a hateful being...
I had a dream... I have always wanted to become a writer and to be able to publish my work and to be able to call myself successful.... What you are reading right now is the result of my own need to be someone, of my dream, of my thoughts and my fears...
Recently, I discovered that there are M.A. programs in Creative Writing... I was deliriously happy... I decided to apply to one university in Canada (I will not ofcourse mention the name of the university) and I waited for months to hear from them... I went crazy waiting for an answer that could answer my prayers, but I got an answer that I did not like... I was not accepted in the University.
"What's the big deal?" you'll ask... and I'll tell you what the big deal is: it was my dream... There are other universities, but the particular one had the best reputation for the MA program in Creative Writing... I wanted in and I did not make it...
I am disappointed and I wish that I could change the answer I got, but I cannot... That's all I wanted to tell you... This story is probably a disappointment to most of you... you see in the introduction a mysterious invocation to my dream, a mysterious request on my part that you identify with me... Well, if the story disappoints you, you know how I feel... I got my hopes up, I hoped and dreamed and asked of myself to go ahead and identify with my dream... Where did that leave me? Miles and miles away from the realization of this dream...
Close your eyes... Imagine that you are 65 years old.... Can you recall the dreams that never came true for you? ... Trust me... 40 years from now I will still remember too... Now open your eyes... and re-read your dreams.
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Afroditi's Story List and Biography