And suddenly, Paris came up.

When people say they fall in love the minute they go to Paris, they are not lying. Nor are they exaggerating. There is truly something enchanting about Paris, and it collectively includes the Eiffel Tower, the River Seine, the view from Montmartre, and the generally genial ambience of the city. Maybe it’s just me, but I did not fall in love in Paris, I fell in love with Paris. Many times I thought of being able to go there someday, which was just a thought to begin with, not anything serious. But after watching the life-altering movie (this is a warning) Revolutionary Road, I suddenly had this urge to purse my Paris dream, I mean, to seriously take on it!

I’m confident that most of us daydream (at least those who have active imaginations do), and I frequently think of working as a cashier in Paris (at any of those souvenir shops near Seine) and as a part-time English instructor at L’Accord. I’ll bring my family there, and we will eat crepes for breakfast, ride the ever-busy Le Metro, and stroll through Champs Elysees during weekends. Because Paris is so lovely we will forget about stress, and will embrace the love for art like it’s something we’re obliged to do. This isn’t far-fetched, you see. There are ways of turning this into reality. Why do we need to settle for the conventional? When going against the flow, why do we feel like we’re hurting others and even ourselves? I’ve got an idea, think of that one dream you have, give it an acronym or tag name (e.g. TPP for The Paris Project), then put it as a calendar marker, to-do list item, or pending task, either digital or on paper. Then everyday, do one particular thing that will bring you closer to that dream. You don’t have a deadline, and don’t even pressure yourself into doing it. Just make sure that at least once a day, you did something that will inch (or nano-inch) your way to achieve that goal.