Fantasy World

I’m one of those people who loves to make up scenarios/stories in my head. Sometimes it’s the only way I can stop thinking about what’s going on my daily life. It’s the only thing I can do to escape. There are some days when facing reality is just too hard.

Most of the time, the stories I make up are based on movies I’ve seen or books I’ve read, and I throw my own twist on them. I create alter-egos and different personalities. Sometimes the things I make up are what I wish my life was like or who I wish I could be. I give myself a new name, a new look, a new job, new home, new school, new enemies, and new love interest.

I’m confident. I’m drop dead gorgeous, I’m a catch. I stand up to the bullies, I stand up for myself. I get the handsome guy who comes to my rescue. Everything always works out in my favor.

The problem is that, because I spend so much time in this fantasy world, I have a hard time facing actual reality and the truths of the world. I’m not the confident person I want to be. I don’t stand up for myself like I should. I don’t particularly stand out. My job is kind of crappy. That, my friends, is my reality.

You know how there are girls who hear country songs and think “wow, that’s the kind of man I want!”? Or those girls who watch the romantic Nicolas Sparks movies and think that the man is just like this unbelievable HUNK who is just perfect? Well they’ve given us this unrealistic expectation that men are just like those in the country songs and in the movies.

It’s the same with fairy tales. They can make it seem like we’re supposed to be these damsels in distress who are waiting for their prince to come and rescue them. (Round of applause for the girls who realize that’s bullshit and think what I’m saying is fucking ridiculous!) Shit, I even know that it’s kind of ridiculous but to be honest, there are those of us out there who truly think like that and believe that it’ll happen.

There was an automatic thought/distortion that comes to mind while writing this. It’s the fairy tale fantasy which states that for us to expect that the world be different is to invite disappointment.

I know how comforting it can be to stay in our little fantasy world and there are days when I want to stay in bed and just dream and fantasize that my life was something else but that’s unrealistic. It really does invite disappointment.

Sometimes, I think I do it simply because I need a break from the world. It can be so dark and lonely and scary. Sometimes, I think it’s the only thing that helps keep me sane.

If you’re reading this and your asking yourself, “how do I face reality?”  Well pal, I don’t know. I’m still working on it. All I know is that perhaps we should spend a little less time in our fantasy bubble and brave the real world one day at a time. Perhaps we need to accept that our lives will probably never be like what we see or what we read. Perhaps we accept that we must be our own knights in shining armor or our own princes and princesses.

Reality is tough, yeah, but we can’t live our entire lives in a fantasy world, no matter how wonderful that world is. I’m not saying you can’t drop in every now and then, just don’t live there.

With Love & Support,

Molly