Growing up, I imagined wonderful things for my future – a life of happiness, fulfilment, love and all things shiny. I imagined a beautiful home, a loving family unit, a successful career, and a sexy physique. A rather Utopian dream, I’ll admit.

The dream grew with me, evolving and changing with my tastes and choices. It stayed with me right through school and university, and then into my adult life… which, of course, is when the dream should’ve become a reality.

Sure, I still have grandiose dreams and aspirations, but I’ve also come to accept certain facts, and I’ve learned valuable lessons in the real world. Valuable, and somewhat reassuring, lessons that taught me the meaning of happiness.

A Beautiful Home

While money helps, it’s not the one thing that makes a home beautiful. And let’s face it: no amount of money buys good taste. With a good eye, and a creative whim, you can decorate your house in whichever way you dream it to be. And a home is only a home when it feels like it – when you’re at your most comfortable within its walls, when you’re relieved to get back from somewhere, and when you’d want to make memories in it. That’s when your home begins to not only look, but also feel beautiful.

A Perfect Family

As for the perfect family, perfection is what you make of it. Husbands are human, susceptible to emotions, mistakes and challenges. If you’re lucky, you’ve landed a man who truly loves you, and will spend his life making memories with you – good and bad. That’s the perfect husband. Not some stereotypical dad in a Colgate advert.

Children, too, are human. And there are differences from one to the next. Even more so when they’re hormonal. Fighting is inevitable, but so is love. You created this whole other person, a life force and a personality. An individual. That is a thing of beauty.

A Successful Career

Again, perfection is what you make of it. Different things are important to different people. Some people find satisfaction in financial success, regardless of their job title. Others find fulfilment in doing what they love, even if it means they’re not rolling in it.

In reality, you’ll need to find financial stability and make sure you can peacefully survive the rest of your days. It still doesn’t mean that you’ll need a big fat wallet to find happiness.

A Sexy Physique

I certainly didn’t fantasize about having a tyre of belly fat, and dimply thighs. Sadly, that’s the case. And you know what? That’s okay. I don’t have the schedule that celebrities have – I can’t use a personal trainer for half the year to prepare for some big movie. I have too much self-respect to binge and purge. And I love food. It brings me joy. I’m not lazy. I’m not excessive. I’m just me.

I may not be in the centrefold of some September issue, but I’m still sexy. I lead a good life, I’m proud of what I’ve done with it, and no amount of physical torture will give me that kind of inner confidence.

What It All Means

I wake up knowing that I enjoy my life. It may not be the fairytale life that the media has deemed perfect, but no one’s is. We are all emotional, physical, hormonal, and psychological beings, and that means we are not flawless. The picture-perfect world of the perfect life is a myth. Life has ups and downs, and the closest thing to perfect is finding happiness within this reality.