I have been blessed with bright ideas and patient parents. I can only imagine the thoughts that have run through their minds, watching me grow up. Having done well in my earlier years at school, having thrived in organized sports and having signed up for almost every extracurricular activity I could find, I was headed for a well-rounded, stable future. I dreamt of being a marine biologist, an environmentalist, and even a teacher. But, as time went on and life happened, my interests shifted; from math and sciences to the arts; from being practical, to seeing possibilities.
Part of living and growing is making choices. I learned quickly that I didn’t really like making choices; not even when it came to picking out what to eat for dinner, or what song to play next in the car. I see now that maybe I didn’t want to limit myself to one thing, but to get a little bit of everything. Though in retrospect, I might have been a little ambitious, or greedy, but that thirst for possibilities, however far fetched, had set me up for my dream job.
After realizing that my mind was better at wandering than putting into practice any practical methods, I sought comfort in books and stories. Soon after, regardless of how much I loved reading, some stories weren’t enough for me. I’d found myself daydreaming and thinking up these fantastical scenarios of epic proportions. Then, I made one of the easiest choices I had ever made in my life, and that was to choose to write down the first story I had created. It flowed so naturally that it entertained me relentlessly. Two more stories followed, and I found myself using up most of my spare time doing what I enjoyed. I still studied, worked and continued some of my extra-curriculars, but I limited myself to the ones that brought me the greatest joy. Everything else I felt the need to create.
A few years after that fateful first story, I dreamt of becoming a published author. My patient parents panicked a little, but smiled and supported me nonetheless. I went to university, worked part time, and eventually found myself a full time job once I graduated. But still, in what little free time I had, I continued to write because nothing put a smile on my face as much as putting it all out on the page.
That’s when I knew, that no matter what I had to do to eventually get to a point where I could write every single day, making a career out of it, I would do it. I found myself writing stories, novels, non-fiction, poetry, articles and blogs; anything I could get my hands on that would allow me to practice the craft I wanted to dedicate my life to. It wasn’t a phase I was going through. It wasn’t a wish. It became a plan. And so, little by little, with some hard work and a whole lot of time, I started to make a name for myself in the world I had dreamt of belonging to.
The one thing we should strive for, more than anything else, is to do what we love. We become these positive people who are enjoying our lives to the fullest, and so, become these inspirational beacons to those who haven’t quite realized it yet. It’s alright be a little selfish when it comes to how you spend your time, because after all, the person you spend the most time with is you. So see what is out there and find what allows you to do good, by becoming better. Turn things around so that your day job and your dream job are no longer exclusive, but integral. Do it for yourself. Do it for others. Do it for the dream.
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