Do you ever have one of those moments when you're looking at
something that you've seen a thousand times before, and realize that you're
really seeing it for the first time?
This morning I was drinking my coffee in bed (don't judge
me) when I read the quote printed on the mug I was using. My brother gave me
this mug when I graduated from high school (which means I've had it for five
years, and even the fact that I have a mug, um, problem (there are too many to
count; it challenges the nail polish collection) doesn't excuse my ignorance,
as I also have a coffee (umm..) problem and drink three cups a day without a
dishwasher so every mug gets used on a regular basis; simple calculations tell
me I have used this particular mug at least 500 times) and it boasts the
following beautiful quotation:
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of
their dreams."
-Eleanor Roosevelt
Now, I have of course read the quote many times before. I've
always thought it lovely and very fitting as a graduation gift. But today was
the first time I really read it and felt it truly inspire me.
I'd always been a big dreamer with many plans and
aspirations for the future. But I worry that lately I have settled into a rut.
I have justified my comfort and lack of ambition to others and myself as saying
that I desperately need this time. For the first time in my life, I clock in
for about 35 hours a week, and the other 130 hours are mine to do as I please.
No two other jobs, no school and studying, just free time. It is glorious to
have this time to sleep and socialize and run and write and read. But I have
somehow lost all ambition amidst the 9am alarms, lazy afternoons, and late nights.
Where did my constant planning, lists of goals, and crazy ideas go? It's time
to bring them back.
I have many beautiful dreams, and now I need to start
believing in them and putting them into action. I want to:
-Run my next half marathon in an hour and a half, so that I
can justifiably call myself a "runner"
-Travel to Peru, San Francisco, Australia, and all the other
places, near and far, that I constantly add to my List of Places to Go, so that
I can be deemed a "traveler"
-Start a career that allows me to write about something I
believe in, so that I can finally be labelled a "writer"
The future belongs to those who dream big and believe in the
beauty of those dreams. I dream of being a runner, a traveler, and a writer.
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