I've had many friends back at school asking about my trip and commenting how they wish they could do something similar. I've also had a lot of time to think on our recent boat, bus, and airplane rides, so I decided to write a little about my thoughts and responses to my friends and fellow dreamers. The following isn't a "how-to" on dreams, but still food for thought.
College students often have dreams but many don't come true. Sometimes these dreams manifest during the calm of the early morning after a night out. Sometimes they develop during a break from a study session with a friend. And sometimes, like a mosaic, a dream is pieced together by a collective. Starting with one little insignificant piece, it slowly becomes a masterpiece.
We've all had these discussions with our fellow dreamers. They usually begin with the leading question, "Wouldn't it be cool if...?" or the simple declaration, "Let's go..." And sometimes, these discussions begin with the dangerous statement: "We should..." But regardless of how our dreams are born or start, they all envision that "great thing" we could, would, or should do in this time in our lives as young adults.
There's something about the University that breeds this special kind of dreams. It's like there is something in the air in the classrooms that urge you to go on an adventure, to explore a world outside of your own, or to do something greater than just sitting at a desk with an open book before you. Even if we're not completely sure of what our dream dictates, we're looking for that great story that someday we can tell our children and then their children. We will start the story with "When I was young..."
But even though we say we should or want to [insert dream here], it doesn't always happen. Although we dream about faraway places or people we haven't met, we stay put in the comfort and familiarity of our homes. Although we wish to add richness to our lives, we instead obsess and busy ourselves with materialistic things. Slowly we repress the thoughts and discussions about that "great thing" we could, would, or should do.
It's dangerous to ignore dreams. Dreams shouldn't be so easily dismissed because a dream is a hunger that the body needs as much as the spirit. The harder you ignore a dream the hungrier you become, and one day you'll wake up feeling an emptiness inside of you.
I'll write a post later on my take on how to make a dream come true (like actual logistics), but what I think is important right now is just to recall that dream of yours. You may have a childhood dream, something you talked about with your friends last weekend, or a new dream trip inspired by my travels! Whatever the case, resurface that hunger of yours, and pledge to yourself that you'll feed it. Allow yourself to dream because it's that kind of hunger that tells you you're really living.
Stay hungry, Louella
P. S. I wanted to give a special recognition to a fellow traveler living and blogging her dream. Jodi has some good inspiration and thoughts if you want to travel. Check her out at www.travelwithjodi.com .