By David Rodriguez
C
hildren
have
big
dreams for when they
grow up. While boys
concoct
fantasies
about being a superhero and
rescuing the beautiful damsel
in distress, girls imagine what it
will be like to be married to the
prince of a faraway kingdom.
The dreams seem lofty and
unattainable to us now that we
have grown up and have been
accustomed to our routine lives,
but those same dreams were
our own many years ago, were
they not? So then we can relate.
What happened? Why did we
lose sight of those dreams?
There are a great number of factors to consider including age,
social expectations, responsibilities, and on and on. Most of
us do not have
friends
that
have
pursued
their
dreams
of
becoming
knights in shining armor or
princesses. No,
on the contrary,
the examples we
have all around
are those people
who are either
climbing corporate ladders in
the nine-to-five
grind, or stuck
working one or
more jobs they
do not enjoy
w h a t s o e v e r.
Our parents probably did the
same, and most of us somehow
came to the understanding that
we had to travel the same path.
With this understanding though,
came the realization that our
goals and dreams would have
to wait or change altogether.
(While making a point, I realize
many generalizations are being
made that may not apply to the
whole audience, but continue
on dear reader, my hope is that
by the end we can all benefit
from applying the principles discussed).
And so it is with our children.
They watch us, just as we
watched our parents and other
examples all around.
This
raises several questions: what
are they learning?
Are the
wishful dreams of becoming
heroes or making a name for
themselves being squandered
by the reality portrayed by us,
their parents? What does that
do to their overall view of what
lies ahead for their future? Are
they excited about their future
or do they dread a bleak outlook
ahead of them? We as parents
have an enormous role in painting the portrait of a future that
will make our children excited
enough to prepare for it even in