Who Puts Tomato Soup in a Cake?

We all love to read stories about a character who sets a goal for himself and pursues it no matter what.

I am no different. I love watching movies and reading books about this.

But. A big But.

In real life, when someone with ambition, a friend, a family member, a random person we met at a wine bar

Yes, I drink. And I am a really big fan of Italian red wine.

We always say: be realistic.

But why?

Like, why do we always say that to the people we love?

Why is it exciting to read about delusional, ambitious people in books but we can't feel the same way about the people we actually meet in real life?

Something is broken.

And I don't know why.

So, the last 6 months. I was going through a really hard time.

I tried a business idea and I messed it up.

Then I moved to a completely new country, living with two guys, one from Africa, another from Iran.

I felt lonely and like a failure at the same time.

Which led to feeling lost.

I didn't know what to do anymore.

Growing up, my family always told me to be realistic. My teachers said it. My friends said it. Even the woman I loved the most said it.

Be realistic was the most heard sentence in my life.

So.

I was told to be realistic when I was preparing for my university entrance exam.

I scored in the top 1 percent.

I was told to be realistic when I entered global competitions.

I won them.

So I have data. Data that proves them wrong. And I still chose to believe them.

So after moving to Hungary, I was trying to be realistic.

I wrote a research paper, like any realistic master's student would do.

But I didn't enjoy it, honestly, this is not what I want to do.

Then today, I went for a walk.

I saw a small coffee shop on the corner. I had just moved in, so I stepped inside and asked for an espresso.

And then I saw the cakes.

I was going to order the chocolate cake. Safe choice. The one I order everywhere in the world. I know it's not the tastiest, but at least it's safe.

Same as what everyone always tells me.