Oh to Be Young & Have Dreams!

"Oh to be young and have dreams!" I exclaimed melodramatically, because how else does one make such a claim?

It was after Natalie, the little girl my mom looks after, announced that she was going to be a professional soccer player. She said it with such conviction, as if there were no way it wouldn't come true.

My sister Shea decided to interrupt my self-loathing. "You have dreams!" she said indignantly. 

And I had to stop and remember that yes I do have dreams. Lots of them! And what am I doing in my pursuit to achieve them?

...

That big nothing was hard to swallow.

Days later I found myself listening to Tracy Chapman's Fast Car on repeat. And I kept hearing her melodic voice crooning,  "I had a feeling I could be someone." In part because that line repeats. But also because I was having the SAME FEELING. And I think that's what a dream feels like.

So here's to getting back on track and on the saddle. Falling back on the proverbial wagon that people always seem to be falling off of. My first step in the right direction, of pursuing my dream: Find a project that excites me, and share it with the world.

So I made this linoleum carving of the state of Ohio. And I marched into Igloo Letterpress in Worthington, Ohio and I committed it to ink and paper. And I made 100 copies. 

I felt the excitement of my dream, and it manifested itself on the surface of my body in the form of a maniacal smile. I could not stop thinking about the prints and the dream and my next step: share it with the world. 

So I ordered some packaging and I researched the cost of postage and I consulted my boyfriend's finance-savvy brain about things I don't understand like spreadsheets. 

And to my excitement, I set up shop! Glasses Half-Full is officially in business! (www.mollystiebler.com/shop) I am young and I have a dream! I had a feeling I could be someone! When the skeptical voice in my head known as Doubt kicks in, I quickly dismiss him. Sure, I only have one item for sale. And maybe no one buys a single one of them except for like my mom, who does so because well, she's my mom. 

Pushing all of that aside...the point is this: I do have dreams. I have lots of them. And I have doubts. Lots of those too. But I think that dreams come with a convenient sidekick known as Drive. And Drive is enough to silence the scary doubts. If I were to make an equation (hey, look at me Drew) then it would look something like this:
(Dream + Drive) — Doubt = Dream coming true. 

(Sue me for loving alliteration. Sue me for listening to Fast Car again.)

So my challenge to you is this: you got a fast car. Is it fast enough so you can [fly away...insert personal dream here] You gotta make a decision. Start tonight or live and die this way.

Thanks for the drive, Tracy.

he said, she said.

She said I have an idea! He said let’s hear it.

Years passed and the idea was still just a dream. A rough sketch. A brainstorm.

He said let’s try. She said I’m scared.

So they put their heads together. Hers was sharp in word and tact. His, with dream, ambition, and slightly better curl.

He said you’re the worst. She said lolz.

Thick skin was cultivated when He critiqued She because He is honest with She and vice versa. And they passed the idea back and forth across several states, carefully molding and fine-tuning its ragged edges and imperfections.

She said it’s not perfect, but it never will be. He said that’s Wayward.

And WAYWARD SONS & DAUGHTERS was born—a happy, healthy, and completely imperfect idea of a blog.

MORE ABOUT HE:

He left his beloved pooch behind, but followed his heart to NYC where he works for a fashion line and takes pictures of street style and subway sleepers.

MORE ABOUT SHE:

She is a free-lance graphic designer, and self-proclaimed wordsmith who lies restless but not weary in Ohio with her suitcase and a sweet tooth.

THEY:

Met at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in a dark and shabby drawing room. She forced friendship on He because She found his colorful sneakers intriguing. The plot thickens when He thought She was a pretentious pea-coat wearing sorority girl but soon found out that She put He into stitches that he could scarcely escape for days. He and She grew in harmony throughout their four years of undergrad and their friendship lives on in spoonfuls of nutella and wherever sing-alongs are shared.

WAYWARD SONS & DAUGHTERS is a colorful collective of crazy ideas as they yearn for a life that fulfills their wild hearts. Join the club. It’s truly not one for exclusivity but rather, one where each member marches imperfectly off-beat to his/her own drum/lute/kazoo/what-have-you.

She said I’m ready now. He said let’s go.

cheers.

the whooping and the clinking kind. cheers to trying new things in 2014? An admirable albeit vague resolution but here's to at least making attempts at cataloguing said "new things." 

In less vague terms, I resolve to:

read

call home more

stretch myself (literally)

expand my vocabulary

accomplish monthly goals

eat fewer meatballs

As for the first, I am a new proud holder of a Cincinnati Public Library card. And as for the last, it's the eleventh day of January and I've had about three solid meals of meatballs. Which is less than ideal and more than disgusting. So to all, a hearty cheer--to smarter and skinnier days ahead. 

xxx

MES