“Dream, believe, achieve”. That’s the saying that I spelled out on my cinema lightbox yesterday. Today, when my mom came into my room, I asked her if she liked it. She said that it should instead say, “work, work, achieve”, which made me feel uneasy and sad. As children, we are told that the world is our oyster. We dream the impossible and aspire to reach our goals to make those dreams come true. However, as we grow up, we become lost trying to fit into society. We are told what’s right and wrong or proper, so we grow more self-conscious and alter our goals to be more realistic. While it’s important to know right from wrong, it removes individuality, and makes us learn behaviours to fit in. We lose a sense of who we are and who we want to be, as we may suppress certain dreams from fear of being criticized by others. But the truth is, we need dreamers.
Photo Credit: Gillian Stewart
We need dreamers to invent and create new things. For example, if it wasn’t for many artists dreaming of a singing career, despite living in small towns or having very little money, society would’ve never heard such great music and those singers wouldn’t have touched thousands of lives. If it wasn’t for activists, such as Martin Luther King, dreaming that the world could be better, then we would likely not be living in a society with more equality (even though I recognize that we still have ways to go for there to be true equality for all).
When we dream, others tell us to grow up and stop living in fantasy land. But I disagree. I believe that life’s about having dreams, believing that they’re possible to accomplish, and working towards achieving them. People may say that dreamers are delusional because their dream may sound ridiculous or unachievable, but it isn’t until someone pushes the boundaries and achieves the dream, that people realize the impossible is truly possible. When you finally achieve a dream, you prove those deniers wrong.
Without dreams, life would be dull. Having dreams means we’re passionate about goals and are dedicated to trying our best to achieve them. If you’ve never followed your dreams, you may forever be haunted by what could’ve been. Best of all, by achieving your dreams, you also help and inspire others to achieve their own dreams. Don’t be afraid to dream, believe and achieve.