Dreams
Dreams
by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Simple, but powerful. I was once asked by someone what my dreams were when I was in high school - my reply was that I didn't have dreams, I had goals. As I've aged, I've learned that it's important to have both. To me, the goals capture the near-future, but the dreams are what drives the creation of my goals. It's so easy to get focused on those little things in life; especially when I was in school and my life was so neatly mapped out for me (go to high school -> go to college -> get a job).
Since I let go of "dreams" and focused on very tangible aspects, when I achieved those tangible things I felt incredibly empty inside. When your life is focused on continously reaching one hurdle after the next, what happens when all the hurdles are gone? Life really does become a barren field frozen with snow. It's imperitive to keep dreaming so that you've always got something to aspire to. :)
Aside from my personal connections with this poem, I've also been a bit alarmed at the lack of ambition of some of today's youth. I've mentored a little bit, and it's quite astonishing to see how many of those who are younger than us (or even those who are the same age) have resigned themselves to a certain fate. What happened to ambitions, to dreams of better life? People are so quick to say "well I'm just stupid" or "I can't do that".
Hold fast to your dreams. You can make them come true.
by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Simple, but powerful. I was once asked by someone what my dreams were when I was in high school - my reply was that I didn't have dreams, I had goals. As I've aged, I've learned that it's important to have both. To me, the goals capture the near-future, but the dreams are what drives the creation of my goals. It's so easy to get focused on those little things in life; especially when I was in school and my life was so neatly mapped out for me (go to high school -> go to college -> get a job).
Since I let go of "dreams" and focused on very tangible aspects, when I achieved those tangible things I felt incredibly empty inside. When your life is focused on continously reaching one hurdle after the next, what happens when all the hurdles are gone? Life really does become a barren field frozen with snow. It's imperitive to keep dreaming so that you've always got something to aspire to. :)
Aside from my personal connections with this poem, I've also been a bit alarmed at the lack of ambition of some of today's youth. I've mentored a little bit, and it's quite astonishing to see how many of those who are younger than us (or even those who are the same age) have resigned themselves to a certain fate. What happened to ambitions, to dreams of better life? People are so quick to say "well I'm just stupid" or "I can't do that".
Hold fast to your dreams. You can make them come true.