The Woman Who Taught Me How To Dream
MadonnaTribe columnist Cristian is back with a new piece titled “The Woman Who Taught Me How To Dream“. Check it out!
The Woman Who Taught Me How To Dream
by Cristian Gonzales
It’s easy to forget what she’s given us.
It’s easy to forget how far she’s come.
It’s easy to forget how far we’ve come with her.
It’s easy to bitch about Madonna these days. With her venture into other projects (W.E., the Hard Candy gyms), and not making a new record in three years, it seems as if Madonna doesn’t care anymore about the things that made us fall in love with her.
It doesn’t help that her last musical offerings didn’t sit too well with many of her fans. Hard Candy felt like Madonna jumping on the musical trends instead of bringing something new to the table. Her Sticky and Sweet tour, while energetic, left many fans feeling short-changed. Sure, it was colourful, but it wasn’t very memorable—and don’t get me started on the outrageous prices she charged for a show that often felt underwhelming.
However, something recently made me think of a time when Madonna wasn’t… well… Madonna. A time when Guy Oseary and big-bucks LiveNation hadn’t yet come into her life. A time before she discovered the Kabbalah and gave birth to an album called Ray of Light. And yes, a time before even Vogue, Like A Virgin, and Lucky Star.
Out magazine has just released a new issue, featuring never before seen shots of Madonna in 1982. The cover instantly struck me. It’s a beautiful picture of a 24 year-old Madonna. Look carefully at her eyes. Can you see it? She’s hungry for it
the fame, the attention, the notoriety
and at the same time, there’s something incredibly innocent about her stare. A part of me wants to tell her, you’re going to have the ride of your life, but also be criticized, ridiculed, and judged by the world in a way that could possibly crush you. But a part of me doesn’t want to tell her anything, because it will spoil it for her. I want her to experience what she’s about to go through. I want her to have that ride
so I can hop along.
As a long-time fan, I’ve been able to have incredible experiences because of Madonna. Her music, her highs, her lows, her images, her controversies, her triumphs, her failures I’ve been around for it all. And it’s inspired me. She set out to make her dreams come true. And in many respects, she motivated me to do the same. My family, loved ones, and friends have also been sources of inspiration in my life—but the person who first taught me to dream, and reach for what I wanted was Madonna.
It’s easy to forget what she’s done for so much of her fan base, especially now, as she’s gotten older and leads a more quiet life. But when I see pictures like this one, I remember. I remember the girl who set out to conquer the world with her voice, her body, her brains, and her bravado.
That’s the Madonna I try and remember—the one I see in that picture. She was the first person to make me see that I was special, and that I was somebody.
Thank you Madonna for reaching for the sky and teaching a young boy how to dream.