What I learned from the RNC and the DNC

You can laugh. It's a little funny, right?!

Maybe I'm a nerd, maybe I just like to junk out on news type stuff, or maybe I just don't have a life... no matter the reason, I watched both the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention. In years past, I have swayed to the Republican party, although that hasn't been the case in this election year. In fact, earlier in the season I wrote this piece which urged the Republican candidates to rethink a few things, but that is all water under the bridge now. Currently, I would say I'm party less.

Here is the deal. I write this piece not to slam on either party. To be honest, I'm really tired of all the back and forth. There are issues on both sides worth debating, but that's not the goal of this piece (and really, I don't understand all the political issues well enough to debate them anyways).

My goal in watching both the RNC and the DNC was to learn (and to understand our culture better).

Here are a few things that stood out:

1. Dream! 
As I listened to speeches in both conventions, I found a common thread. It wasn't always about fear, making changes, or even the political agenda, it was about dreaming of tomorrow and the future. No matter who you are, you don't get to be a presidential candidate without dreaming of all the possibilities. Both Trump and Hillary have accomplished a lot in their lifetimes, and not everything was handed to them. They had to dream and dream BIG. They had to ask themselves, what's next? What do I dream next? I respect this about them and I've got to give them at least that credit.

I believe the older we get, the less we dream and the more we settle. Few keep striving for the dreams they had in their years of youth. I don't want the overwhelming parts of adulthood to drown my dreams. I want to keep dreaming. I want to dream of next year, and 5 years or 20 years down the line and I don't want the hardships of today to affect my dreams of 20 years from now. Do I dare say that I want to dream as big as Trump and Hillary? I may not dream of being the president of the United States (no thank you!), but I do want to dream big. May I ask, what is your dream? Have you given up on it?

2. Do! 
In order to get ahead in life: to make a difference, to see those dreams come true, to keep moving forward, you have to DO something. Trump and Hillary have done things. You may not like what they have done, but they haven't been sitting around waiting for things to change. They are doers.

Let's be honest, doing things can be hard and overwhelming. Just yesterday I knew I needed to do the simple task of cleaning out my closet. It was time, yet, I stood there in front of my closet and had no idea where to start. I called my sister and she said, "just start with your old clothes." Ha! Of course! Just DO something, Sheila! The same with the little and the big things. We all have things we know we need to do, but we just don't know where to start.... or we just don't want to do them. Stop putting it off. Just do it! (No this is not a subliminal NIKE advertisement) DOING keeps us moving forward. Doing helps dreams come true. DOING one step at a time is what helps make change happen. So what do you need to do? I know I need to finish cleaning out my closet. Then I need to find a bigger task to DO.... and simply DO IT!

3. Wake up Millennials! 
Here is where you may not like what I have to say, but I'm going to brave it anyway.

Millennials, we must wake up! Our parents have worked their butts off to give us this beautiful life that we live. We are truly blessed. We hardly know what it means to work hard for our dinner. To give our lives for the causes that matter most. To be called to war without a choice. To pay cash for things and not live beyond our means. To not have something we want. To save for the little starter home. We have been given everything we could ever need or want in our lifetime. Now it is time for us to stop feeling entitled, to put down our social media gadgets for just a little while, and to find our cause and passion. We see pictures of young people from different eras fighting for their cause, taking a stand, and sacrificing for the sake of good things. We see pictures of us, millennials #yummyshushi, #amazingadventure, #skinnystrong, #pokemon, #donuts, #lifesamazing, #yolo, #blessed... We hardly care for anything deeper than ourselves and our own comforts. I, unfortunately, can write this so easily because I am a millennial too. I am part of #lifesamazing. It's an easy life.

Millennials, we must wake up because we are the near future. We are where America goes. If we have no cause, if we have no fight, if we have no passion, where will that leave us? I believe America is at a very pivotal time in history and it is up to us where America goes. Let's not miss the greatest opportunities to make real change happen because we are too busy #livinglifetoitsfullest.

So thank you, RNC and DNC for helping me wake up, do things and dream again! No matter the outcome of this fall, I know that I have my own work to do to help make real change happen.