Dream Big!
When I was twelve years old, I decided to become Amish. At twelve and a half, it became apparent that I was not going to have the continued drive it would take to be Amish, so at thirteen I decided I would settle for being home-schooled. When my home-schooling plans were foiled by a mother who needed some "alone time," I decided at fourteen that if I couldn't become Amish and I wasn't going to be home-schooled, at least I could find traditions in my faith: I was going to become Catholic.
In the past 5 years I have decided to join Indianapolis Children's Choir, become a dancer, run mini-marathons to raise money for charity, write a novel, start numerous clubs, organizations, and groups, disguise myself as a homeless person to experience a different lifestyle and drive cross-country by myself while living out of my car.
Dreaming big has never been a problem for me.
It may shock you to know, however, that I am not a homeless Amish Catholic dancer who is living out of my car. You see, while I have no trouble dreaming big, I do tend to have trouble following through. The majority of my first fifteen years of life consisted of me flitting from one hobby to the next, unable to settle down to one thing. The things lifted above are just some of my more outrageous ideas; there have been plenty of reasonable, worthy projects that are left unfinished somewhere in my past. I just couldn't seem to find the motivation to keep these activities going.
When I was sixteen, I decided to lead a bible study. When I was sixteen and a half, I signed up to start taking college prep classes.
Three weeks ago I decided to start a blog.
And these things turned out to be different. Because they actually happened. The bible study has taught me invaluable lessons about leadership and my faith. My classes have taught me discipline, time management, and toughness. And this blog has pushed my writing ability, my exploration of my faith, and my commitment to a project beyond what I had ever imagined.
Dreaming big is great, but it only produces results if we choose to take those dreams. It is our commitment that makes us grow the most. It is the little things that push us to the greatest limits. Sometimes the hardest part isn't wanting to do something. It's deciding three months later when you want to quit that there is something more important.
In the past 5 years I have decided to join Indianapolis Children's Choir, become a dancer, run mini-marathons to raise money for charity, write a novel, start numerous clubs, organizations, and groups, disguise myself as a homeless person to experience a different lifestyle and drive cross-country by myself while living out of my car.
Dreaming big has never been a problem for me.
It may shock you to know, however, that I am not a homeless Amish Catholic dancer who is living out of my car. You see, while I have no trouble dreaming big, I do tend to have trouble following through. The majority of my first fifteen years of life consisted of me flitting from one hobby to the next, unable to settle down to one thing. The things lifted above are just some of my more outrageous ideas; there have been plenty of reasonable, worthy projects that are left unfinished somewhere in my past. I just couldn't seem to find the motivation to keep these activities going.
When I was sixteen, I decided to lead a bible study. When I was sixteen and a half, I signed up to start taking college prep classes.
Three weeks ago I decided to start a blog.
And these things turned out to be different. Because they actually happened. The bible study has taught me invaluable lessons about leadership and my faith. My classes have taught me discipline, time management, and toughness. And this blog has pushed my writing ability, my exploration of my faith, and my commitment to a project beyond what I had ever imagined.
Dreaming big is great, but it only produces results if we choose to take those dreams. It is our commitment that makes us grow the most. It is the little things that push us to the greatest limits. Sometimes the hardest part isn't wanting to do something. It's deciding three months later when you want to quit that there is something more important.
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