As a child, you probably heard the question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” quite often, and chances are, you probably responded with a profession you desire of pursuing or a superhero you look up to. Me personally, my response remained constant throughout my childhood days even till now, “I dream of becoming a doctor.” Back then, after I reveal my dreams to my elders, they’ll respond with enthusiasm and a smile on their face with the words “You can be anything you want as long as you believe.” But now, even my peers negatively  responds with a doubting smirk on their faces after hearing my dreams.

Thirty percent of children around the world is fortunate enough to achieve their childhood dreams they set during their youth. On a daily basis, I think to myself whether or not I’ll be a part of that lucky thirty percentile or will I disappoint my future self. Being presented with the facts and requirements of becoming a doctor scared the living spirit out of me. Reality struck hard, the amount of schooling and money for medical school laid a heavy burden on my shoulder. For a brief while, I started to believe my peers and accepted the bitter so called truth that becoming a doctor was out of my reach. My performance in school was negatively impacted and took a downhill plunge, I was greatly discouraged thinking about my dull light bulb future. This is why I believe that reality kills your dreams.

But a wise man once uttered to me that nothing will happen to my future if all I do is sit down and mourn the death of my dreams. Slowly but surely, I got back on my feet and began to take on the challenge of climbing my mountain of dreams. It will take me at least 14 years but through diligence and perseverance, I will make it up the steep summit of my dreams. I had to learn to put my emotions aside and focus on what really mattered. I learned that my only enemy in life is not the people that put me down, rather it is myself, my own thoughts. As a matter of fact, the people that put you down should be your number one motivators, take their insults with a grain of salt and use if for courage rather than discouragement.

As I mentioned, kids get asked many questions from adults, but it’s time that the kids do the questioning. The real question is, do dreams really come true? Are the disney characters telling the the truth or is this just a hoax old people say for us kids to brush up on our imagination. It’s indeed free to dream, dreaming wouldn’t cost you a penny at all. Reality strikes when you decide to chase your dreams. Whether your dreams requires any type of schooling or not, an obstacle of some sort will end up hindering your success. You as an individual is entitled to your own key to the future, it’s up to you and the decisions you make. Reality can a big Debby downer, it can cause someone to rethink their ambitions and end up not pursuing it.

In many situations, you must disregard reality to achieve success. Being able to fly a tin can bigger than a house 40,000 miles in the air may not seem realistic at first. We must step out of our comfort zone and try new things. On the brighter side, it is hubris what caused us humans to float on water aboard a giant building of aluminum and metal scraps. It is hubris what abled us humans to walk on the moon.  Being able to think out outside the box and having the courage to do what you want and believe in will be the path to your success. As cliche as it is, having the correct mindset will be your one way ticket to your happiness. But if you let anyone or anything else tell you otherwise, you will end up not achieving anything. With all good in the the world, a bad comes in with the good as a package. Hubris will also be the cause of your downfall, so with that in mind, make your decisions wisely.

One step in making a “smart goal” is to ask yourself if that goal is realistic. Realistic as in if a human being is able to achieve such thing. This automatically rules out superpowers such as flying. Dreaming is believing, and when you believe in something you will tend to do everything in your control to achieve that dream. When reality strikes, many dreams are buried. It is your duty as a dream keeper to either keep dreaming and disregard reality or board the train and plunge down in  a lifestyle of failure. This I believe that reality will kill your dreams. Dreams can often be compared to a butterfly, the more you chase it, the more it gets away, but if you focus on your actions and fulfill your duties, it will eventually peacefully land on you. Dreams are free, but you will never get anywhere unless you get off your ass, put on your shoes and pursue it.