Note from Melody’s Mom: This was from a paper and presentation Melody wrote for her class right before her 11th birthday. There was a short paragraph about immigrants coming to America with hopes and dreams. The assignment was a prompt about hopes and dreams. Usually, there are only two drafts and a final paper, but I think Melody was being extra thoughtful on this topic so she wrote, rewrote, edited, added to, dressed up, decorated, and finally finalized her paper. Her response struck a chord with me and I think it will give you something to think about as well. What is your dream?

My Shifting Dreams

Has anybody ever asked you, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” This is a question many adults ask children. When a kid gives an answer, it doesn’t have to be forever. Our dreams can shift during our lifetime. This is my dream. This is my story.

Scritch. Scratch. My perfectly pointed pencil point picked up speed as the words flowed on the paper when I was five. My trusty pencils have been at work ever since that time. Maybe before I was five – perhaps since I wrote my first words! Long ago, I encountered writing, which has been my dream since the beginning, and it lured me in, truly inspiring me. Words, which automatically pop out of my head, rapidly rush to the pages of the papers. I write faster. And faster. And still faster! This is one of the main reasons I love writing: I can use lots of creativity. I can make characters go places…or make them realistic!

Interestingly, this was not my only dream. When I was seven my dream was to become an art teacher. (I didn’t ever want to let go of that one because I like drawing.) I carried that dream all the way until last year, and then I stopped. Many of you knew about this dream. Why did I stop? I wasn’t passionate about it anymore as I had been when I first started. Art is still one of my hobbies, but not one I’d consider for a job. So I looked to the future and chose another path.

Writing comes naturally to me, so I decided I wanted to become a writer instead of an art teacher. My goal as a writer is to one day have a physical, hard-bound copy of my book in my hands – or maybe somebody else’s hands too! I love writing, and because of this, I really think this is the right path for me. I love writing stories and coming up with words.

So many dreams come and go, but shifting dreams means finding who we truly are, what is relevant to our lives, and what means a lot to us. I love my most recent dream, and I hope I can make a difference with it. My own life has been impacted by the writings of others and my own writing. As I continue to pursue this dream since this year, it is my hope that others will be positively impacted too!

When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up? Did you become what you wanted to be? What do you do now? Do you love what you’re doing?