Live Your Dreams

What do you want to be when you grow up?

No seriously, if you could be anything, what would it be? As children, we were asked this question on a daily basis and the adults around us usually giggled at our answers because they were unbelievably bold! That's because as children we truly believe we can be ANYTHING we want to be! I’ve often asked myself at what point in our lives do we stop believing that. I’ve come to the conclusion that as we grow up and experience life we allow our fears to begin to dictate who we are. Now don't get me wrong.... at some point it is important for us to develop a healthy fear so we can learn that jumping off the monkey bars may not be the best idea! BUT- we should NEVER let fear get in the way of living our dreams.

I've been a dance instructor for several years. Recently, I was asked what lesson have I learned from my students? Without a doubt my answer was to be fearless! I love having conversations with my students during class and my favorite question to ask them is what they want to be when they grow up. As you can imagine...I've heard a variety of answers…..everything from an astronaut, the President, a ballerina, an architect, a mom and many, many more. As adults, I feel it is important for us to encourage children to dream big, to chase their dreams, and to never let anyone tell them they "can't"! Honestly, I despise the world “can’t” and as a dance instructor that word is never allowed in my classroom. Instead, I tell my students they can choose to say either "I can" or "I'll try." Personally, I believe that's the attitude we should have in life. No matter how many times life may knock you down and make you believe that your dreams are unachievable, you have to stand back up, dust yourself off and show the world your "I can" or your "I'll try" attitude!

Many of us may realize how crucial it is for us to take the time to nurture the minds of our youth and allow them to chase their dreams. My fear is that we may overlook the fact that it is equally important to nurture our own minds and remind ourselves that we, too, can dream big! If you’re not living the life you’ve always dreamed of then make a change! Stop letting fear of the unknown get in the way of living your dreams. Instead, look fear in the face and say…. BRING IT ON!

After all, the only true failure is the failure to try!

VALUE: LIVE YOUR DREAMS!

All for one and one for all… United we stand, divided we fall.

All for one and one for all… United we stand, divided we fall.

Is it just me or is everything a competition these days? Now don’t get me wrong, a little healthy competition is always great motivation but just like all good things there is a fine line that we should all be weary of crossing. Our society is divided politically, culturally and economically and we are lacking an effort to blur the lines in order to understand and accept those who differ from ourselves. America has always been known as “The Melting Pot” and I believe that we have a unique opportunity to become a more well rounded society if we could learn to accept and love those who may be a little different. I know this isn't an ideal that can be changed overnight but why not start taking steps in the right direction and teaching our children to love and accept everyone they meet. Even if you don’t necessarily agree with someone, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t RESPECT their opinions or ways of life.

Lets first talk about the divide between women- I was flipping through a magazine the other day and it hit me… the media not only shows an unrealistic portrayal of women but they also feed the competition that we constantly have between each other. There was a headline titled “Who wore it best,” I’m sure you’ve seen it, and that itself is teaching our teenagers that there is always a ‘winner’. Competition is getting out of control and these ideas that we are teaching the next generation is only feeding that problem. Instead we should be teaching them to respect themselves and each other and to root for one another instead of tearing each other apart! 

Now politics… Oh boy! The divide in our country is like a ripple affect… starting at the top. I’ve often wondered why our President and Vice President have the be from the same party. Is it insane to think if we had a representative from each party working together toward a common goal that we would have less of a divide between our country. I personally believe that each party should be represented equally in order to have ideas from each view. To be as young as I am, I feel very strongly about politics, and our political leaders, so I’m not some tree-hugging, lets-all-be-friends-kind-of-girl, but I do believe if we are striving to make our country stronger - it should start at the top! 

As a society, we label ourselves as Republicans or Democrats, blue or white collar, a celebrity or common person, fat or skinny and I could go on for days, instead… why can’t we just say that we are proud to be Americans and to live in a country that allows us the opportunity to choose. Now growing up in the south, I have been surround by some narrow-minded individuals my entire life. I hear racial slurs more than you could possibly imagine and it upsets me to know that although we have come so far as a society, we still have a long trek ahead of us. I personally don’t see race, or religion, or disabilities, I only see an opportunity to make a friend or to learn something new, and that is an ideal that I try and pass along to each person I have the opportunity to speak with. I hope this blog opens your mind to the possibility of a new way of thinking. Let’s work together to empower our next generation, to work toward equality for all, and to embrace both our similarities AND our differences. Remember….UNITED we stand….. divided we fall.  

#VALUES #UNITY #EQUALITY #ACCEPTENCE #COMMONGROUND #COMPASSION