Dream
"Hold fast to dreams
for if dreams die,
life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly."
-Langston Hughes
Most of begin dreaming when we are just children. We begin to dream about being doctors, firefighters, and astronauts. As children we often aspire to be what are heroes are and there is something beautiful about that sentiment. Children see the black and white version of life, things are either good or bad there isn't much gray area in a child's decisions. Children look up at their heroes and they see something in them that drives themselves to dream. My hero when I was growing up was my grandfather and he was an artist. I'm not sure if that was his dream but it was certainly his passion and watching him paint was wonderful. To see a man so completely taken by a task that it distracted him from all of life's worries - I wanted that.
Once we start to grow up and life gets a little more gray we start to consider who we are and who we plan to be. Most of us decide what our dream is in High School. Some of us will shout it from rooftops, some of us will only tell our closest friends, and some of us are even too scared to utter it out loud. I used to be one of those people who was afraid to say it aloud because saying it would make it real and that meant it could be taken away. Then I met someone who changed my mind, they were the first person I'd ever really shared my writing with and they told me I was good enough to chase that dream. Having someone else believe in me gave me the opportunity to finally believe in myself and for that I'll be forever grateful.
I told my grandmother soon after that and she was surprisingly supportive. I thought she would be disappointed but she was overjoyed and that made it seem even more possible. I was so excited I told all my friends and teachers and again they believed in me. It was the best feeling in the world - everyone believed in me as a writer. Then the unthinkable happened that person who first believed in me broke my heart. I was crushed and soon I quit writing. I quit writing because I no longer believed in myself. I no longer believed in love. I didn't believe in the silliness of chasing your dream.
"Not until we are lost do we begin to find ourselves"- Thoreau
That was the dumbest thing ever! I gave up on my dreams because one person decided to give up on me? It took me a long time to realize just how stupid I was being but once I did I realized something...It took having my heart broken and giving up on everything I loved to realize that I have to believe in me. It would never matter what my grandmother thought, what my friends thought, what critics thought...all that mattered was if I believed in my dream. Once I came to that realization my world view changed.
Too often we put our hopes in dreams in others arms. We tell our loved ones to support us and protect us and to believe in us. We give them are most precious desire in life and tell them to take care of it like its their own. That is completely unfair not only to them but ourselves. We have to take back our dreams and fight for them ourselves. We have to stop being afraid to chase after our passion. "Thinking will not overcome fear but action will." We have to take action! Follow your dream and do it because you believe in yourself. Do not give up your dream because someone told you that you weren't good enough. It will only make you a shell of you wanted to become.
Follow your dream - whether it be playing basketball, becoming a doctor, publishing a novel, or having a beautiful family. Always be pushing yourself to make your dreams come true. You may not end up in the NBA or on the bestseller list but that doesn't mean you can't do what you love. It will take a lot of hard work and determination. There will be times where you believe you've failed. But I promise you this as long as you are working toward your dream then you are not failing. You are living.
"No one said it would be easy - they just promised it'd be worth it."
Much Love,
Maggie V.
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