On The Size Of Chocolate Bars And Expectations. (From Watford Observer)

On The Size Of Chocolate Bars And Expectations.

4:22pm Tuesday 22nd September 2009 in Connections

Chocolate bars have shrunk. Fact. This is not just because I was smaller when I was younger. They also cost a lot more, which grieves me, as I used to be able to munch three for now the price of one. It doesn’t even make me healthier, it just makes me poorer as I still sometimes want those three chocolate bars and will go to any lengths to get them.

The problem is, when we are young, we are presented with the biggest chocolate bar of possibilities. We believe anything is possible. We have no cynicism, no unbelief in ourselves. The girls I teach want to be singers, vets, dancers, actresses, and why not? Why shouldn’t they become exactly who they want to be, and follow whichever dream they have?

Somehow along the line, the chocolate bar shrinks. I’m an idealist, but I still have a dose of cynicism in me. I’d quite like to be a singer, songwriter, but I’m a 22 year old girl with average looks and no musical training. I can strum a few chords and hold a tune, sure- but I am so deep rooted with- ‘that’s just not enough’, that I’ve sidelined it as a hobby, probably never to be returned as anything more. The same with being a novelist.

When did this happen? I love what I do now, but I’m not on a stage singing my heart out, nor am I a Nobel Prize winner. Somewhere I have been taught that these dreams are too big. I would love it if every one of these girls that we see on a Tuesday leaves believing that anything is possible. I would love it if we could break the mould and change how they see themselves and their dreams, before cynicism, like chocolate bar prices, breaks in.

On a less cynical side: It’s funny how you can believe you’re hardly making a difference, and then one quiet girl will tell you how the Girl About team has helped. You can probably tell the moment I stopped typing before school this morning and picked this up again afterwards. I was going to amend it, but these girls, these girls make a difference. My cynicism gets smashed by them. These are the girls that have the ability to change the world, if people believe in them. No dream is ever too big.