Nobody ever said that chasing your dreams would be easy. If they did, they lied. As I continue on my journey to make my dreams my reality, I have already learned so much about myself and about this process. Over this past week I have reaffirmed what I have always known: Nothing is going to be handed to me and I can’t control the actions of other people. Should this discourage me? Probably. Will I allow it to? Absolutely not.
We all understand that in order to be successful in something we have to commit ourselves to whatever cause we’re working towards. We can only hope that our “hard work pays off” mentality will lead us to what we so badly want. While I share in this mentality, I also know that there are going to be obstacles in life in general, and there are going to be people who will stand in our way. Not everyone is going to be cheering for us, but that’s ok.
We will work even harder to conquer what we’re so committed and driven to achieve for ourselves and in spite of everyone who ever shut us down or closed a door on us. We, the achievers, thank you for fueling our dreams even more.
I am sure that you’ve all felt, at some point, that maybe you should give up on chasing your dreams. That maybe you’re not cut out for this and it’s too much work after all. I can only hope that you were able to shake it off and use that discouragement to fuel your passion and drive even more. I understand how it feels to be put down, embarrassed and discouraged. I know how it feels to question everything you believe in and want because of someone else. I also know how great it feels to accomplish something in spite of the people who told you that you couldn’t. I still believe in you.
I think you have what it takes and I think that you know it, too. Sometimes you may forget how badly you want it, but I believe that our dreams are flames ignited deep within us. They may dull when life gets in the way or someone tells us that we aren’t good enough, but they are forever within us, ready to grow as great as we allow them to grow.
I will leave you with a quote from the all-knowing Ms. Taylor Swift:
“And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
But I keep cruising
Can't stop, won't stop grooving
It's like I got this music
In my mind
Saying, "It's gonna be alright”