I'm a hard working dreamer

"How did you get here? You're Swiss right?" Intrigued by a Swiss couple running an R.V. park in southern, Utah I went into my interview mode. Their answer was simple,"We won green cards." I felt clueless; I didn't even know you could do that.

They told me of their dream of living in the States. They worked hard to travel in the West, always dreaming of moving there. When they won the green card, they packed their belongings and left Switzerland. Their dream became a reality, and then they hit the hard bit...reality.

I am a dreamer; I love a good story. I would never want to crush anyone's ideas but....dreams are more exciting because they are without worry...they are fantasy. 

I could have told them it would be hard. I could have told them they would have culture shock. I could have told them it isn't always as it seems, and I could have told them that traveling a country and living in it are two very different things.

I didn't know them at the time; I didn't tell them.  I was told the same thing, and ... I didn't listen; why would they? 

I realized we had two things in common; We had a dream, a wish and we went for it. As the obstacles came we worked on it, we made a plan and fixed things. When I heard Dr. Gabreile Oettingen talk on NPR's Hidden Brain I understood exactly what she was talking about. Sometimes I choose to leave something a fantasy because to make it a reality you need to work.

So there we sat, in southern Utah, connected by our struggles and our stories. Mine had been in their country, and theirs were in mine.  I don't regret following my dreams, and they didn't either. Thank goodness too. Wouldn't it be boring if we didn't live out our dreams because the reality could be hard? Here's to dreams people....go chase them but don't forget to be realistic. When they tell you it will be hard just answer, "I know but how can you have an adventure without a challenge?

—Allison Ochs Social Worker M.S.W. , Coach, Expat, Mother of three, Wife

Photo by Luigi Colonna on Unsplash