[Catwoman]

It is very difficult for me to work out what I want from the future knowing that the future doesn't exist. Sitting here trying to think of my goals and dreams, I come slightly unstuck as every dream relies on the future. I dream of now being different, but now will never be different to what it is.

Lady Syc hit the nail - dreams of accomplishment and acquisition rarely satisfy. Of course, some things take time to complete, like Mari's writing and Dana's teaching. As long as the process or journey toward this dream is also your dream. If you're writing in pursuit of money or critical acclaim then writing isn't your dream, self-definition is. If it is creation that flows through you via the particular channel of words, that is the right reason.

I got a little caught up in this dream-making some years ago. Attracted by the glamour, money and fast-moving lifestyle, I set my heart on an advertising career. I liked the idea of sitting around in a studio bouncing ideas around a table, of winning flash new clients to the pleasure of my hard-to-please boss, getting promoted at a lightning rate and earning more in a year than both my parents had in their lifetime. The reality of course is quite different. The 'glamour' of fast cars and top restaurants is fleeting and unsatisfying, and in any case reserved predominantly for those at the top of the profession. The 'bouncing round ideas' dream of unrelenting creativity is day after day surpassed by the uninspirational reality of deadlines and client-driven nightmares. It doesn't matter how good your idea is. Chances are it won't get heard because the boss didn't come up with it and even if it is it will be picked and battered to pieces by a client who doesn't want to spend money and especially does not want to change. Dreams of fast promotions and euphoric bosses flatten in the face of a plummeting economic climate, always forcing me to remember that I will never be as important as the next FTSE fluctuation. And the money goes on the drinks and coke and Guardian subscription you need to keep up with your less talented but more motivated peers.

All I am saying is that dreams are dreams and life is something very different. Make sure you're dreaming of reality otherwise you'll never wake up. Make your life your own dream, don't chase other people's.

Saying that, I hope everyone here finds the happiness they are looking for, and at the very least, if you insist on having dreams, that they don't turn into nightmares.