Student Blog: Just a Dream

If there is anything this past year has taught me, it's that we can't wait around until circumstances are perfect to pursue our dreams otherwise we would be waiting around forever. Time is a precious gift and we can in no way afford to waste it. We have to learn to dance through the storms rather than waiting for them to pass because one day we will eventually run out of tomorrows and wake up one day wondering where the years went. Life is short and it's way too easy to let the years slip through your fingers.

As the days passed and as my graduation clock timed out something clicked in my brain and I just knew what I had to do and where I had to be to run after the dreams I've always had for myself. Honestly, I think I've always known it's just making the leap that is sometimes scary because there is always a risk of failure involved. But the truth is, there is always some element of possible failure in anything you do. The failure just hurts a lot more when you've spent your whole life working for this moment. Chasing your dreams is scary. You are risking a lot and putting your heart on the line. But they say if your dreams don't scare you they aren't big enough and I suppose that's true. If we only did things we were comfortable with we would never grow. Big dreams push us out of our comfort zones and grow us to new heights we never thought we could reach.

But what if I don't make it you may ask. What if it was all a waste and I fail. Oh my dear but what if you succeed and get everything ever wanted and have worked for? Why do we always ask ourselves what happens if we fall on our faces and fail miserably and why don't we start asking ourselves what if they pick me for the part and all my dreams come true. It's because we want to shield and protect ourselves and our hearts from the pain that the idea of failing inflicts. We don't want to let everyone around us and everyone who has sacrificed and supported us down. But if we constantly expect ourselves to fail and not be good enough for the goals we set for ourselves we'll never achieve them. How can we expect other people to believe in us if we can't even believe in ourselves?

The people in your life will doubt you and tell you not to risk it all, but sometimes risking it all is exactly what you need to do. Big dreams take big risks. You have to trust in your own beauty and have faith in your abilities to succeed. You are never too old to go after your dreams, it's never 'too late', and self doubt is certainly not an excuse.

And so what if you fail? What matters is how you react to that failure. Will you quit and let those feelings and the negative words of others consume you or will you learn from it, push through, and keep going? There will be millions of noes, but it only takes one yes to turn everything from gray to glitter. If we aren't willing to fight for our dreams, do we really deserve to have any at all?