When we're young, we were always told "reach for the stars," and "anything's possible." We grow up hearing inspiring stories about how people "made it." But as we grow older, our dreams become less exciting and more practical.

When I was young, I wanted to be so many things. A detective or CSI, a ballerina, a concert pianist, or a dolphin trainer. I grew up, and eventually figured out that it would be difficult to be a ballerina (I love chocolate way too much.) I learned that CSI's actually have to deal with blood (which I faint at the thought of.) I found out that you have to be great with a varieties of sciences and mathematics to train a dolphin (which I'm not.) And a concert pianist needs both extreme talent and lots of training. (Well, I had the training, and some talent, but it certainly wasn't enough.)

There are two things that have, however, stuck in my dreams. The dream of becoming a journalist, having a successful career, then going part-time so I can enjoy being a mother. This is my "dream B," or my "backup dream." I love to write, and I love to design pages. I love photography, and I love making videos. (I was a broadcasting major before changing to journalism, and now I've taken up broadcasting as a minor, since I'm only 5 credits away from it.) This dream, I know, is attainable.

But that leaves no room for the miracle of my first love...dancing.
This other dream has been in my heart since before I started taking dance lessons. This dream...becoming a dancer, is something my heart won't let go, no matter what I tell myself. I don't care whether it's on broadway or with a company somewhere. Yet something holds me back. I love to dance and to be on stage in front of an audience. I would give anything to make a career out of it. But I'm not. I am too afraid of my dreams becoming disappointments. I've been to scared of failing, and then having nowhere else to turn to.
The logical side of me said, "you need to go to school and get an education so that you can pursue this dream later." The heart of me said, "You need to pursue dancing right now." In the end, the logical won. I don't regret going to school. I have been incredibly blessed to have learned what I have. I believe, in the end, that journalism is well within a good grasp of me right now. But I constantly wonder what would happen if I were to just go and audition for dancing roles across the world.
I know I'm not the first, nor the last, to have these thoughts. What does one do when life takes us in out to sea, while our dreams are lying on the shore?

As Langston Hughes wrote,
"Hold fast to dreams
For if dreamd die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow."
These dreams are something one must hold dear, if even for the sake of having them for the time.
But how do we deal with the dreams put on hold?
I was recently talking with a friend about my dancing "career". She said that no matter what happens, that I should never give up dancing. She was right. It's in my blood, my veins, my life, and giving that up would mean a grief and sense of loss I know I couldn't bear.
Many people have dreams of doing this or doing that, yet only a handful of them ever do what they had dreampt about as life was just beginning. But letting go of a dream doesn't mean you have to quit all-together. There are plenty of opportunities around you that provide a means for that release. For me, it was teaching dance lessons at a local dance studio. I taught lessons to kids anywhere from ages 5-18, and I can't help but admit it was such an incredible blessing. To pass on information that I've learned through the years, knowing I am enriching another person's life, helped me see past my own ambitions and give back to the community. Who knows..maybe one of them might turn out to be the next Margot Fonteyn.

Take your dreams and your passions, and do something with them. Teach a class, do it as a fun hobby, join a club, or take some classes yourself! Whether it's painting, basketball, or acting, enrich your life, and enrich other's.