Growing up I would hear the common phrase, “It all starts with a dream.” But what IS the “dream?” 

For some, it’s living the “American Dream,” which consists usually of buying a house, raising a family and having a steady job. While for others, it’s traveling the world or simply just graduating college. Dreams are both big and small, but what is it that makes them worth fighting for?

Dreams encompass goals. They give your life purpose, direction and meaning. I changed my major the second week of my freshman year to journalism. Writing for The Spectrum was one of the small dreams because, now, this is building towards my future as a journalist. I honestly never thought I would make it here, at college, as a whole. 

Dreamers are taught not only about failure but about perseverance and stamina. They have the courage and creativity to see beyond “what it is” to “what can be” to make a difference in their own life and the lives of others. 

Think about the dreams you have had in the past – the ones you did not reach. Be honest with yourself about why you did not attain them. Did you give up because you thought the battle was unviable or were those dreams just not significant enough to you? 

I know that some of you hold your unrealized dreams close to your heart. You have not totally given up on them, but you are no longer actively working towards them. All I want to ask is: are they worth fighting for? Even if it takes months, years, decades? If you can answer yes to that question, I urge you to take up the battle again. Do not worry about how you will achieve your dreams, no matter how powerful they may seem. Remember, dreams come slow but they go so fast.