Creating a Life of Meaning

 I have been learning a bit this week about Randy Pausch. He was somebody that was able to achieve a lot of his childhood dreams, and I have a few reasons why I believe he was able to achieve them. First and foremost, as a testament to my field of studies, his parents encouraged his imagination and dreams by allowing him to write on the walls. I don’t think that allowing your kids to write on the walls is the key to children achieving their dreams, but the principle behind it is what’s important. Secondly, he persisted in the face of “brick walls,” or challenges that most people would see as an end to their dreams. One of my favorite quotes from him is, “experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.”

In my opinion, dreaming and pondering is important. If we don’t dream, where is our ambition for life? Perhaps we have had experiences where we get discouraged or overwhelmed at the reality or belief of achieving our dreams. From examples of people I have been associated with, I have learned that when you give up on your dreams, a big piece of you dies. For your love and ambition for life, you can’t let dreams die.

In my own experience, I don’t want to say that my dreams have died, but my dreams have evolved. I have this fun desire to own a zoo someday. Through self-exploration and career discovery, I learned that I don’t want to pursue a degree or career in that field. I learned that I would feel the most purpose and fulfillment in life by helping marriages and families. Does that mean that I have given up on that dream? No, I have simply learned that that is more of a hobby or interest of mine. I still believe, just as much as I did as a child, that owning a zoo would be so much fun, and I can make a business out of it. I strongly believe that I can achieve anything that I put my mind to. I love the ways that Randy Pausch has helped me to see challenges on a career path, and I hope that I will be able to apply those teachings, and get even more excitement and ambition from life- creating a life of meaning.