Dare to Dream

What is the first question we typically ask high school students? "What college do you want to go to?" Why do we ask that question? It is just what everyone asks. It is what is expected of them. It is what is done. You go to school for 12 years, graduate and go to college for a minimum of 4 years. The goal is to get a 9-5 job that you don't hate where you make a good amount of money. Now don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with college, I have taken college classes. College is the only way to obtain certain jobs and is very beneficial in many ways, but why is it just what is expected? Why is everyone who doesn't follow this one-size-fits-all-plan crazy? As children we are encouraged to dream. We are told that we can be anything we want to be, do anything we set our minds to. We live in America, the land of opportunity. However, we are afraid to dream. Therefore, we are expected to follow the tried and true methods for success. But what does this result in? Everyone is doing the same thing. So now the requirements have to be upped. The pool of opportunity is getting smaller, yet if you do anything different you are the crazy one. As a result, so much talent goes to waste. Everyone is afraid. The people that do go to college tend to do the same general things that are steady and safe. Of course this is smart to a degree but what happens when there are too many people for the same "safe" job? The employers become even more selective. Yet still we are taught about job security from a young age. I remember job security being discussed with me when I was only 14 years old. If anyone makes a good living and is successful but did things differently we are told they are rare. They are a minority. After all, if they did things differently, their life was probably very hard for a long time before their success.This deters everyone else from trying, even young people that have their whole lives ahead of them. They are afraid. America was founded on a dream. A very courageous dream that cost many people their lives. Sometimes dreams come at a price. You may have to become uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. Many people died on the Mayflower, and then during the first year in America. Even more people died during the Revolutionary War. I'm sure everyone in England thought they were crazy, I'm sure they even thought they were crazy. But guess what? THEY WON! They won the war and America became one of the wealthiest countries in the world with citizens that have freedom. So much freedom. Freedom to choose how to live their lives, freedom to choose how to worship. I am thankful everyday for their sacrifices and their willingness to be considered crazy, to be uncomfortable and to die so I can have a better life. My great great grandmother came here from Serbia. She came here and was poor and married a man roughly 10 years older than her that she had never met. She never learned English and I don't know much about her because my grandma couldn't communicate with her. She was poor and probably lonely and misunderstood her whole life. I am thankful everyday that she had the courage to dream, that she was willing to be uncomfortable for me even though I never met her. Because of her I get to grow up in America. The whole world is at my fingertips. I am young and free and can do anything I want with my life. I am smart and talented and I will not waste that. I won't throw away my opportunities. I won't let fear control me. I am not afraid to be uncomfortable, to be called crazy, to be different. I have been different my whole life. I am not going to let society put me in a box or force me to be average and just do what everyone else does. I am not going to take the easy way out. I am going to be exceptional all because I had the courage to dream. If something seems impossible it is simply because your dreams are not big enough. I am daring to dream. Are you?