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 * Dreams and Passions **

The other day, I got home and called my mom while she was at work. There was something I had been wondering for a while that I couldn’t shake. I asked her if she could remember what the very first thing I wanted to be when I grew up was, because I couldn’t. She said a marine biologist. Now I remembered. I had wanted to work at Seaworld as a dolphin trainer.

The problem here wasn’t that I interrupted her work or even that it seemed like a completely ridiculous question to ask with no context. (Or maybe not, she’s probably used to it by now). The problem was that I couldn’t remember this big dream I had as a kid and it doesn’t have anything to do with my boycott on SeaWorld (I’ve seen too many Black Fish type movies), even though I still love sitting in the splash zone during the Shamu show. I had such aspirations but now I couldn’t even remember them.

Let me ask you this: How many of you had some dream career when you were little? Think about it. How many people wanted to be a police officer, an actor, a daredevil, a clown, an adventurer? And how many still want to pursue that same thing? Not many. Obviously it has to do with loss of interest, but it also has to do a lot with the world we live in. We like to say that in America anything is possible. That we can be anything we want to be. We tell our kids, “If you put your mind to it, you can do whatever you want to do.” But then we tell that little boy to take off his sister’s ballet shoes, even though all he wants to do is dance like they did in the Nutcracker. Or we buy the little girl a princess book when she really wants the one about space.

Now, my parents never told me I shouldn’t be this or I shouldn’t be that. They let me imagine what it would be like to be different things. But it happens to plenty of others, and it doesn’t just happen with a possible career choice, I mean what do toddlers know about the work force anyway. It happens to people’s passions. Because there are too many other, more important things to do than focus so much on one thing… Right? Wrong. Our passions are what give us motivation to live and to accomplish.

I do Taekwondo, and I’ve been doing it for about ten years now. It’s a huge part of my life. I work there as an instructor, so I’m at basically everything that ever happens there. My parents absolutely support my passion and love that I love it. But sometimes I don’t think they fully realize how important it is to me. Sometimes, when I don’t absolutely have to be at an event, but I want to be, they ask me: “Why do you have to go? Aren’t you there enough? Don’t you sacrifice enough of your time? You do more than most of the other people do.” Well, yeah. Of course I do. I love being there. It’s like my second home. I kinda get where they’re coming from, and most of it is the fact that they have to drive me everywhere. But that’s besides the point. The point is that this is one of the very few things I am able to do solely for myself, but no one gets that.

Then I have a friend who used to do Taekwondo with me. She always asks me, “Why do you still do it?” And “how are you not bored?” This question just doesn’t make sense. You mean why don’t I get bored of the one thing I am obviously very passionate about? What!? My question is how do I NOT do it? How DID you get bored? It. Doesn’t. Make. Sense. Take a moment to think about something you are passionate about. Think about how happy it makes you. Think about how different you would be if you didn’t have this in your life. Think about how when you’re doing this, everything else can go away and your worries disappear, even if it is just for a little while. If you know this feeling, then you know how I feel. If you know that feeling, why wouldn’t you want everyone else to feel it too? Instead people feel like outcasts because no one understands their passion. We, as a society, need to let people be themselves. If someone has some way of expressing themselves, let them do it, even if you don’t understand it. Imagine an America where everyone was full of passion. We would be able to do so much.

“ [|Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.] ” Harriet Tubman said that. And I’m with her. So ignore what anyone else might think and find your passion, whatever it may be. Be a ballerina. Be an astronaut. Be the most obscure thing you could imagine. Study philosophy, do crazy workouts that I could only do in my sleep, wear a penguin onesie to Walmart. If you’re passionate about it, nothing and no one should stop you.

We need to be more passionate. Get off the couch, and go do that thing that fills you with joy. Don’t let anyone limit your dreams, ambitions or passions. Maya Angelou said, “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”

Imagine if we all lived that way. If we all invested in our passions.

What an America that would be.

What a world that would be.