On New Year’s Eve, I wrote down very specific wishes on a piece of paper and burned them under the full moon, which, incidentally was also a blue moon. I was told to burn the paper at 3:14 am, which is when the moon’s supposed powers were at its strongest.

Whether you believe that the planets and heavenly beings actually have any impact in your life or not, I think writing down wishes and desires is the same as saying it out loud-you are owning those wishes and proclaiming them to the universe. I believe that, combined with actual work, can turn all of these dreams into reality.

In November 2008, I made a vision board. For those who don’t know, a vision board is a collage of all your goals, hopes and dreams. I usually cut photos and words from old magazines to create a cohesive “vision” of where I want to be in life at the moment. Anyway, as I was saying, I made one over a year ago and on it I pasted pictures of airplanes, suitcases, cameras, beaches and the words “Notes on a Gypsy Summer” In about three weeks, I got an invitation from a dear Uncle to go to South America the following June. Less than a year later, I was on a 36 hour journey to Quito,Ecuador, a week after I was on a catamaran sailing around the Galapagos Islands and then after another week in Quito, we flew to Costa Rica for a few days. As if that wasn’t fun enough, I flew from Costa Rica to New York and ended up staying there for five weeks. While I was there i met so many new people, rekindled my love affair with hiphop and caught up with many old friends.

I had a good year I think mostly because I wanted to have a good year. I also turned 30, cut a lot of the bullshit out, welcomed new, unexpected things in. I changed, yet remained the same, if that makes any sense.

I made a vision board a few days after I came back from New York. This time, it was a lot more personal. I have the words “What I love about me”, “Change”, “Forward” and “No more compromises” pasted alongside images of a cute boho chic apartment, an airplane, the NYC subway and newlyweds. When I added the newlyweds next to the words “No more compromises”, I think I meant I wanted to find someone who I was totally on the same page as, who loves me exactly for who I am and who shares the same goals and values in life as I do. A few days later, I met my current boyfriend. At the time, of course, there’s no way I could have known that he could be that guy but the more time goes by, the more I see that although he is nowhere near perfect, he is a perfect fit for me.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that we shouldn’t be ashamed or scared to voice out what we want out of life, and more importantly, to chase our dreams. No dream is too high to reach, no wish is too out there to be unattainable. Besides, if people make fun of you, you can shrug it off and remember that the people who are crazy enough to think they can get whatever they want, are the ones that actually get everything they want.

*peace*