Do you know where crushed dreams go?
*YOU CAN NOT ALWAYS CONTROL WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU BUT YOU CAN CONTROL WHAT HAPPENS IN YOU*
A few months ago, I was to fill out an application for a business grant. As I was going through the application, I stumbled upon a section where I was to write a 1500-word essay on why _I thought I was the best person to win the grant_
At that moment, a chill ran through my spine for a moment. I dreaded writing. Even the thought of it made me wish I could hide under my bed!
But I wasn’t always like that.
As a young girl, writing was my passion. I dreamt of writing novels and traveling around the world to speak about my books and characters.
I dreamt of hosting writing workshops for eager teenagers and creating unforgettable memories. I reckoned a very bright future was beckoning me.
That seems like centuries ago!
The twist that rattled that aspiration manifested itself on a late afternoon, way back in my secondary school. That fateful late afternoon, when I joyfully entered my English teacher’s office, I was greeted with a big “F” on my English essay and a red pen written all over the pages of my script. My teacher looked at me disapprovingly and told me point blank that I was wasting my time writing. I was confounded and dumbfounded with my dreams fatally crushed and buried in a cold compartment in my heart.
That memory was indeed harrowing.
As I sat in front of that application, my fear slowly turned into anger. Why would someone pronounce such a verdict and truncate a lofty dream? I thought about all the young girls I would’ve impacted. I thought about the laughter and tears my books would’ve created. I thought about the future that was made to falter, in that moment of unguarded pronouncement to an impressionable heart.
And I decided, it’s never too late. I resolved to piece together my crushed dreams because they were never too far to be beckoned upon. I realized that in my story, I’m the main character, and I decide which way the wind blows.
Then and there, I drafted the essay, letting my crushed dreams fuel my passion. And because I said I could, I made my turn around in that moment that mattered.
*Self Reflection* What is that one fear you must face to overcome? Just crush it NOW.
