BY ANDREW OBRZUT
A plan is a realistic outline for a generally probable event. It is logical. It is realistic. It can be accomplished.
A dream is a wish, a whisper on the breath of a gust of wind, rushing through one’s ear to the brain, filling them with a feeling of hope balancing on the precipice of the subconscious. A dream is an endless sea of possibility, beautiful in its infinity, calm yet powerful, both a destination and a journey.
Dreams don’t have to be realistic, since they may not ever occur. In fact, very rarely do dreams completely come true. After all, it has been shown that the more one talks about their dreams, their lofty goals and unrealistic expectations, they tend to fall short or not succeed at all. Think about any New Year’s resolution. Think about that time you hoped that you would get a good grade on a test, then failed. Yes, you can dream, but without a plan it probably won’t come true.
Let me give you a more concrete example. My sports team did not do very well this season. From the looks of it, they will not do extremely well next season, either. That is the reality of the situation. Those are the facts.
And yet, they dream. They dream of winning the state title, something that was last done by a team with significantly more talent and more people. My teammates don’t care, though. They heard the whisper of a dream, let it take root in their minds, and it fed them glimpses of an ideal future. This dream probably won’t come true. But it has already accomplished its purpose.
At best, a person may catch sight of their dream as dew coats a blade of grass – the dream appears to be there, but soon evaporates, leaving only reality. Perhaps my teammates will get 3rd at states rather than 1st. Perhaps your New Year’s resolution will hold for a month or two longer than others’, but still fade away to obscurity. Perhaps nothing we dream of will ever come to pass, and we shall be left with the dull monotony of reality.
Perhaps the outcome doesn’t matter, though. Dreams were not made for the outcome, they were made for the journey. My teammates’ dream will give them a vision, a goal, a purpose. In the future, when they stumble and fall (which will inevitably happen many times), it will not be their calculated workout plan that pushes them to their feet again. No, it will be this dream, this unrealistic idea that will push my teammates to work harder, get stronger, and become something greater than the sum of their parts.
That’s what a dream is. That’s what a dream does. It shows you what you you can be and then a little extra in the hopes that you shoot for the moon and land among the stars.
Without a dream, a person can be good. With a dream, a person can be great.