Humans are fascinating creatures. As with all other animals, we eat, sleep, care for our young, and defend ourselves. Our society likes to believe we are an intellectual people, a people who think and invent, and a people who learn from our mistakes. Yet most of what our daily activities consist of revolves around habitual behavior. We wake up in the morning, brush our teeth, put on our clothes, and drive to work for an ordinary day at the office. After this excitement, we return home to eat a mundane dinner and sleep in preparation for the same routine. I believe that humans need to step away from our mundane lives and live our dreams. I believe that if all of us believe, then our dreams will no longer be impossible.
I have always been a dreamer. When I was a mere boy of five or six, I dreamt of a world where I could be President of the United States. I dreamt that there would be no hunger, there would be no anger, and there would be no violence. I came to realize that we do not just live on a mass of rock and organic material; we live on a field of dreams. With every step we take and joule of energy we release, our potential grows. Is our fate determined by destiny? Or can we alter it and shape it as if it were clay? Can we shape it to conform to the molds of our aspirations? I believe we can. There is no outline that guides the direction of our future. Each one of us, from the workers in China’s rice patties to the astronauts living in the International Space Station, will only fulfill our passions through our dreams.
Last year, I began applying to colleges. Through the application process, I realized I was missing something. Then it hit me. I had no clue where I wanted my life to go after high school. I had no idea what kind of careers I could even remotely consider. In desperation, I turned to my dreams and narrowed them down: Astronaut, United States Senator, Geologist. By turning to my dreams, I opened my eyes to a world of potential. I am lucky because I am passionate about my dreams. Others are not so fortunate.
Dreams are sustained by passion and a deep desire to never fail. Too frequently, human beings take the gift of dreaming for granted. Why? Instead of casually tossing them aside, we need to care for our dreams, nurture our dreams, and foster our dreams with an undying passion to live them. I believe we will realize that by letting our passions guide us, our time spent living on this field of dreams will not go by wasted.