Dare to Dream...

With Oprah in Hamilton at Copps Coliseum

Do you dream, does your mind wander, what do think about, have you put any action into your dreams? What are some of your big dreams, and what about the smaller dreams that lead up to the bigger dream(s)?

I have always been a dreamer, sometimes my dreams are unrealistic or at least I think they are, then I start thinking wait, why am I judging my own dreams, they are my dreams, and if I want to dream them I will. One of my all time dreams has been to work with teens. I love them, I relate to them, and I am so passionate about them.

As long as I can remember I envisioned myself working with teens, I didn't know how, where, when, but I certainly knew why! My "why" is,  as a teen I did not have someone to communicate my feelings to, I didn't have a go to person, and I certainly didn't want to talk to my parents. As a sexual abuse survivor I felt alone, and never good enough, a lack of confidence, and no self esteem. But through it all I knew I was different. I may not have been able to choose my childhood, but I certainly chose my outcome. I can now proudly say that I am working as the publicist for Derrick Shirley, and as the PR Director for It Takes 2 Youth Leadership Institute.

One of the greatest lessons I've learned has been through my own children. Children/teens talk to me all the time, and my biggest take away is that they want to be heard, and they want to be seen. Even Oprah talked about this in her speaking engagement in Hamilton. Everyone wants to be heard, wants to be seen, and wants to be validated. Often we sit there and judge before our child even gets the words out of their mouth. We as parents/mentors/educators have to appreciate what the child/teen is bringing to the "table" and be open to wanting to listen, we may not agree, or we maybe disappointed but it is our job to listen. I bring this up because often parents will say to me, how can I communicate with my child, if you are truly open, and not judging the process will work.

I can talk teen talk all day, now getting back to my dreams. I always saw the vision, and the dream of me being surrounded by teens and getting paid for what I love to do. It is getting close, we are so close to sponsorship for IT2 and then I know all my efforts will pay off. This is a dream that I cannot wait to achieve. Being paid for what you love to do, how awesome is that!

Secondly, my next all time dream was to meet Oprah, well I am happy to say not once but twice I got to meet and speak with Oprah. I have blogged previously about my trip to California and the joy of meeting Oprah the first time. I have to tell you about my recent meeting with Oprah. This past Saturday, April 13th, 2013,  I woke up, and as I normally do, grabbed my cell and looked to see if there are any texts, or messages, etc...but what I saw was a call from Chicago.

I was like hmm the only people/company I know in Chicago is Harpo Productions. Right away my heart started beating so fast, especially because I knew I was going to Oprah in Hamilton that night. I thought oh good they left a message. So I eagerly listened to the message and low and behold it WAS Harpo Productions aka OPRAH!! The message was from one of Oprah's Directors personally inviting me to the meet with Oprah and have photo ops with her that night backstage. The first thing was, HOLY CRAP, that changes everything. I was going to just wear jeans, and a sweater, now it's like okay I will have to put something together that will be Oprah worthy lol. As I said to my husband it will need to be Oprahified lol.

When I arrived in Hamilton with Jan, my fellow OWN Ambassador, we met up with her son for a quick bite to eat, and then met up after with a few more OWN Ambassadors for a quick drink. We shortly left as we were due to be backstage by 5:30 pm. When we arrived at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, we were escorted backstage where we spent time with Dina Pugliese and Kevin Frankish from Breakfast Television in Toronto. We also had the pleasure to hang out with George Stroumboulopoulos from CBC, and CNN. What a fun bunch they were!

Later on, one of Oprah's staff approached us, and said wait until the end of the line so Oprah can spend a few extra moments with you. To cap off the entire night, as I sat in a packed Copps Coliseum, Oprah shouts out my name. Can you believe that, not only does she do a shout out to the OWN Ambassadors, she shouts out my name, like holy shizzle LOL. That moment was so surreal.

In closing....Your dream could be meeting someone, or riding across Canada (Derrick Shirley is currently doing that now) or taking a trip, whatever your dream is, do what needs to be done, and give it life. You can be/do anything you want to, if you think it, you can do it! Move toward it each day, and it will happen!

Thanks for stopping by... All your dreams can come true, if you have the courage to pursue them.~Walt Disney

Much Love,
Shelley Harris

Picture in California at our OWN Ambassador private lunch

Jan and Shelley

My children