Journal Writing Project - Dreamers

By Kristina Mengis

Fri, Nov 23rd, 2012
Posted in All Journal Student Writing Project

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By Kristina Mengis

What if our Founding Fathers had given up on their fight for freedom? People wouldn’t have come here in search of the “American dream.” What if Martin Luther King Jr. hadn’t spoken the words “I have a dream…” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial? What if Henry Ford or the Wright Brothers would have given up on their dreams of innovating transportation? What if Michael Jordan had stopped playing basketball after being cut from his high school team?

All these people have one thing in common: a dream. Every successful person has started with a goal. Whatever someone’s dream may be, small or big, dreams and goals are what keep us motivated and make us strive to do better. We all have them. Maybe they are daily goals or ones that will take a lifetime to accomplish. Some people’s dreams change over time, and other people’s may stay the same as when they were a kid. They may range from curing cancer to playing on your favorite sports team.

Some people reach high and challenge themselves. When someone tells them no, they use it as a reason to prove that person wrong. Other people let their dreams scare them, or they don’t know where to begin. They let other people convince them that they will never make it. They accept defeat before they have even accepted the challenge.

As a kid growing up, I was always told to “chase my dreams; the sky is the limit!”

We all know how childhood dreams can sometimes be very far-fetched, but you don’t want to tell a young child that. I dreamed of a rich actress on Broadway or an Olympic gymnast. Some of those dreams now seem impossible or silly. My dreams have changed as I’ve gotten older, but people aren’t afraid to tell me how challenging they will be or that they won’t happen now.

If we all have dreams, why do we put down the dreams of others? I do not mean to say that everyone is guilty of this, but I know that I am not innocent. I have had thoughts and probably even said things that led people to believe that I doubted them. If we make other people doubt their goals, how can we believe in our own?

One of the best feelings is when you accomplish something you once thought was impossible. We can’t let others tell us what we can or cannot accomplish. This also means that we have to be supportive. We must believe and do whatever it takes if we are really serious about our dreams. Don’t take no for an answer!

That is what I’m trying to remember as I begin to figure out my life after high school. My dreams still scare me sometimes, but as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.” With every challenge you face, you must keep aiming higher. I want to thank everyone who has taught me to never give up. I hope that you don’t give up either!

As John Lennon once said, “I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us and the world will be as one.”

Kristina Mengis is a student at Mabel-Canton High School. She is one of 8 area students participating in the Journal Writing Project, now in its fourteenth year.

Comments:

469

7:20:51, Nov 29th 2012

bwenthol@mabelcanton.k12.mn.us says:

Kiristina's outgoing personality enabled her to travel to other countries. She has brought back her experiences to share with us. She is not afraid to live her dreams. Good article!