Certified Dreamer. ᵈᵒ ᵈʳᵉᵃᵐ

I am a certified dreamer. I hold proof.

I’ve been one since 2005. Imagine 11-year-old me at my primary school graduation ceremony—each student called up one by one. I hear my name and walk towards the front. Read aloud was my award: “To Rose George – for always managing to fit a little day dream into the day.”

At the time, I probably just smiled shyly—was I embarrassed? I can’t remember. But I was always drifting off somewhere far away, and I’d even forgotten about the award for years.

I found it again around this time last year, when I had gone home to finally complete my degree. My academic journey has been marked with many obstacles, but I’ve persisted—and I’m honestly so grateful and proud of the dreamer I’ve become. Thank you, inner dreamer compass.

Since finding this award from 20 years ago, it has brought me much comfort as I’ve worked on Opaline Quill. As an adult building a business dedicated to supporting other dreamers, discovering this felt like a huge confirmation. It has since become one of my most cherished accomplishments—an achievement rewarded when I didn’t even know I needed it.

Thank you, Miss Latorraca, for honouring the quiet little girl who would travel to other realms without ever leaving her desk. Thank you for awarding my escapism with a tangible certificate, thank you for identifying me as exactly who I am.

It would take over a decade for me to reconnect with this dreamer within. To recognise myself and integrate her into my whole being without hiding. I am learning to embrace the full embodiment of the dreamer that I am—just myself. I always expected to go unnoticed and often did, so for my inner dreamer to be seen and rewarded is truly a gift. Thank you, Miss Latorraca.

20 years later—here I am. Sometimes it’s hard to know if it’s all worth it - curating a business is so, so hard - there are so many technicalities that have felt like being bricked and buried. But I love what I do - the creative side is the remedy. While the whole vision is unclear, I know my inner compass is calling me forward with it. Breaking points are reached, and we survive—not only that, but we grow new branches and our trunk widens and our roots reach deeper, and we realise we're becoming a truly magnificent tree - no longer a stray sprout facing the wind alone - now we can provide shelter. I’ve grown up.

Life can feel like a loop—but it’s a spiral that is ever ascending, not a flat, undeviating replay - look back and see how much you’ve risen. I look back and realise I’m now thriving with so much love. I’ve nurtured my nightmares into dreams. This day dreamer is living a dream life that was never imaginable before.

Perhaps without finding this certificate last year, I wouldn’t have had the comfort to give me the courage to persist with such joy and inner knowing. This reward is sacred to me. So, this blog is also a mission. I’d love to find Miss Latorraca and thank her. If you know her, please help connect us. I’d like to be able to gift her the oracle deck I created for Dreamers.

Thank you from the faraway girl. I still day dream—and I hope you do too, Rose.

Miss Latorraca. Queenswell Junior School. July 2005.