Be a Cheerleader, Pompoms optional

You want to be the next J.K. Rowling? Awesome, sign me up to be a beta reader when you finish your novel.

You want to be the next Stephen Spielberg? Spectacular, can I be an extra? I'll bring Reese's Pieces to share.

You want to be the next Julia Child? Amazing, let me know if you need to borrow any kitchen stuff or need a taste-tester.

You want to be the next John Wayne Gacy? Cool, you stay right there while I go call the police and get my self-defense machete, but when you start painting clown pictures in prison, let me know. They make lovely gifts.

Growing up, I never really was told that I couldn't be what I wanted to be. My parents taught me to be realistic with my goals but to also go for what I wanted. They gave me the right amount of encouragement that kept me reaching for my dreams but kept me grounded.

That's what I try to give whenever somebody shares their goals with me (especially if it's in the arts because that's where my heart is). If they tell me they want to go back to grad school to get their masters after being out of school for 10 years, I am going to cheer, encourage, offer study help, and anything else I can, including being ridiculously excited and proud.

Or if they say they're about to give up on their book because they've been working on it for five years and it isn't going anywhere.

Oofta.

You want to see some beat-you-over-the-head encouragement? Tell me you're going to give up writing because it's too hard/somebody said your writing is terrible/*insert stupid reason here*, because I will encourage the shit out of you.

This is my level 5 crazy face.

Do you know why?

Because you deserve it.

I have a few special cheerleaders in my life. They know and understand that I can easily get caught up in pipe dreams and instead of crushing them, they calmly bring me back to reality with questions about how exactly would I go about dropping everything to move to Brazil to own a llama ranch when I don't speak Portuguese, nor do I know the first thing about llamas. But they are champs with my more realistic dreams like becoming an author, moving to Lincoln, adopting a cat, and living up to my Worlds #1 Aunt tee shirt.

A few years ago one of my best friend's daughter's teachers told her that her daughter wasn't very creative and that they should work on that at home. My friend was floored because her daughter was one of the most creative kids she had ever known. She loved coloring, crafts, making up stories, and decorating their living room. I remember my jaw hitting the ground when my friend told me this because she was always bringing me pictures her daughter had colored for me. I still have them and one is on my fridge right now.

With less encouraging parents, that teacher's one comment could have stifled that little girl's creativity and artistic dreams for the rest of her life. But my friend did something awesome. She blew off the teacher's opinion and kept doing what she was doing. When a paint your own pottery place came to town, my friend took her daughter. They now go once a month to do all the projects that the place offers and her daughter's skills are growing by leaps and bounds.

I guess the point of this whole thing is encourage, don't discourage.