A woman in her 40s once asked a passerby in his youth on the streets of Seoul,
“What’s your biggest dream?”
He looked around the passing cars, the busy street at the people with joyous faces, wondering if they were living their dreams?
He replied,
“ I am not sure. Not having a dream doesn’t mean you have failed in life. Neither achieving a dream means you have succeeded. My dream is to do my best at the moment”
The question she asked was a common one. This a question that has made me the most confused yet the most excited over the years. Often asked, but I didn’t have an answer. I heard people talking about how they wanted to be doctors. Rich businessmen. Influential bureaucrats. All the incredible places they wanted to travel to. To read people’s minds. To have magical powers.
Their dreams felt unreal. Far fetched. A tool they were holding on to keep their passion for struggling inside alive. A matter of time. It felt like they were disrespecting the moment they had to wait for a moment in the future to make them happy. People like us find ourselves the most lonely when we cannot relate. Watching all those action movies I dreamt of becoming a spy. I dreamt of death as noble and pure as theirs. But who knows..the next second my breath would never return?
My dreams lost their meaning over time because I dreamed big. Ending up doubting myself. My abilities. Who am I today? Unnecessarily making me bored out of the present. Bored out of life. Struggles seemed to go in vain. Dreams went even more distant. Out of my reach, it lost its charm and remained no longer “dreams”.
But why do we have to dream so big? Why can’t our dreams be as simple as receiving chocolates, waiting to watch a series, to read a good book? To play with colors to paint something incredible. To capture the sky, the sun, the moon, and the stars. Wanting to see your parents proud of you every day. To spend a good time with friends, playing board games, having football matches, to be able to complete your homework at the best timings. To dream of being kinder than before.
Why can’t our dreams be as simple as living these moments?
To make life a bit livelier. To just be happy.
Written by: Maryum Meraj 11-A