Dream Big

Follow Your Dreams, No Matter What

— Aspen Jewkes, Opinion Editor

Figuring out who we are supposed to be, finding our purpose in life, finding the things that make us truly happy in life and planning our dreams are all things that people struggle with. We are told the text book way of life is how we should live, but what is life to you? It is different for each individual because no two lives are the same. We all in cohesion with one another and can find inspiration from others on how we as humans should live our lives, but what makes you the person you are? These are all questions I have struggled with finding the answers to. I may never know the exact answer because life is a roller coaster that takes people on different paths that leads people to different answers. Although the roller coater may pull you in many different directions, I have always found a way to make myself happy under different circumstances. Many times, people do what makes other people happy whether that is letting go of their dreams or even giving up on them all together. We as humans are heavily influenced by the people that are in our life, but it is important to not let their dreams overtake yours whether that dream is going to college and finding your life long career, going straight into the work field after high school, traveling the world or even living in a van and experiencing life on the road. We are all working for one simple thing known as money, but what happens to all of that money when you die? I recently watched Nomadland, which is a movie about a woman living in a van experiencing life on the go. One of the characters from the movie, Merle Redwing said “I did not want my sailboat to be in the driveway when I died,” which has changed my perspective on life as a whole. This inspired me because we work our whole lives waiting to retire so that we can take that sailboat out, but life is too short to wait for those moments. There is a big world out there full of many opportunities waiting for you to jump on them. I encourage you to follow your dreams, no matter who or what stands in your way, keep chasing them. In the end, life is a gift, and we should not sit around and let other people control the life we are given.