I remember the last relationship I was in. She was beautiful, funny and smart, or so I thought. We met at book and poetry night in the park, where I was performing my latest piece. She came up to me after the show, congratulating me on my performance, and asked if I wanted to grab a drink. That was the start of something I never could have imagined.
We started dating, and I found myself falling more and more in love with her every day. However, there was always something off about her. I could never put my finger on it, but it was there, lurking beneath the surface.
One night, I had a dream. In this dream, I was sitting at my desk, writing the next great American novel. As I typed away, my girlfriend appeared in the room. She was holding a baseball bat and began to smash everything in sight.
"Why in the world are you doing this?" I yelled at her, trying to protect my work.
"You're wasting your time with that stupid writing. Nobody is ever going to read your garbage," she yelled back at me.
I woke up sweating and gasping for air. It was just a dream, I told myself, but it stayed with me.
The next morning, I sat down at my desk and started to write. My girlfriend came in and asked me what I was doing.
"Writing," I replied.
"Still?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "I thought you would have given up on that stupid hobby by now."
I was in so much anger, but instead of getting upset, I just smiled.
"I'm not going to stop writing. In fact, that dream I had last night only encouraged me to write more. I'm going to stay focused and keep working until I achieve my goals," I said.
My girlfriend scoffed and walked out of the room. From that day forward, she would mock me whenever I talked about my writing or spent time at my desk. But I didn't let it get to me. Instead, I channeled all of that negativity into my work.
I now have over 100 short stories, with 60 of them published. Every time I write something new, I think back to that dream and remember why I started in the first place. It wasn't for fame or fortune, but because I had a story to tell and I still do till this day.
In the end, that relationship didn't work out. But I learned a valuable lesson. Never let someone else's doubts or negativity stop you from pursuing your dreams. Stay focused, stay true to yourself, and never give up on what you believe in.