By Jenni Beaver
Last week I found myself in a classroom full of people seemingly very different from myself. It was an Honors class and we were discussing dreams and goals.
Left and right I heard people saying, “Be practical.” Another person would say, “You can dream, but don’t dream too big.” I honestly couldn’t believe it.
That experience allowed me to observe a few things about dreamers, wanderers, and skeptics. In many ways, the three groups overlap more than you’d think.
The dreamers can be abrasive. Beating down doors with iron fists, demanding opportunities they insist they deserve. They’re the one in a million. The next big thing. The greatest. The best.
The wanderers shuffle through city streets unsure of who they are or where they belong. Crowds swallow them and they live their lives as part of the hustle. If they can glide by unnoticed maybe they can avoid the dreaded question, “Who are you?”
The skeptics hide behind diplomas and freshly ironed suits. They answer identity questions with a firm handshake and business card. Stern eyes and straight back. Not a hair out of place. Dreams? No. Reality. Always reality. Only reality.
But sometimes the dreamers are quiet. They reach for the doorknob with shaky hands. You’re the best, they tell themselves. But when they finally come face-to-face with what they’ve always wanted, they raise their iron fist just to find it’s turned to flesh. Not everything they touch turns to gold. Sometimes it turns to dust. Sometimes they don’t feel like they’re the best, but they keep dreaming anyway.
The quiet wanderers aren’t always hidden. They’re footsteps aren’t whispers. They’re souls aren’t caged. They walk the streets of every city with knapsacks and uncertainty. The funny thing is that they may be the most certain of us all. They’re certain that life is a wheel. Who they are today may not be who they are tomorrow, but as long as they get a little better each time, the sun will continue to shine.
Some skeptics hold a kite. A kite of dreams they’ll never admit. Outlandish things they can’t explain. Wants and needs that far surpass the title on a business card. Yearnings that not even the finest of boutiques can satisfy. Aspirations that hairspray can’t tame. A fire that burns so brightly they can’t put it out.
Raise your iron fist. Grab your knapsack. Straighten your tie. Take up your cross. Let’s jump the fence and adventure into a world where the grass is greener, the sun is brighter, and our hearts are happier.
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