Dreaming Big

Ever since I was young I’ve had an overactive imagination. I live with my feet on the earth and my head in the clouds. I’m constantly writing stories, daydreaming, and planning out various roads I could walk down in life.
The other night, I was talking with my mother, telling about all the dreams that I have for my life. I said something like, “Sometimes I worry that I have let my imagination whisk me away. That I won't be able to actually do everything that I'm wanting to do. That I’m dreaming too big.”

She replied, “Adelaide, dreaming big is just the first step.”

That got me thinking: One about how lucky I am to have such wonderful parents who support me even when my dreams may seem a bit over the top. And two about the fact that every person who has ever made an impact on the world started by simply dreaming big. Without big dreams, without imagination, human kind would not be where we are today. It allows us to set goals, to have aspirations, to create, to invent, to hope. It is our greatest tool. It is what sets us apart, what makes us extraordinary. It allows us to imagine of something better, something more. It can give us light even in the darkest of times, give us hope when we have nothing.

If I give nothing else to the kids at Ama Ghar, I want to teach them how to imagine, how to dream big. Through my weekly creative writing classes, I’ve been slowly giving them the tools to use their imagination. In the beginning, it was a slow process, with me prompting them on every subject, like blowing on a spark and waiting for it to catch flame. But tonight, after about four weeks of working with them, I saw that spark of imagination finally burst into flame and spread as rapidly as a forest fire. Now their ideas are pouring out of their minds, overflowing on the paper. It is a very gratifying feeling to see them finally grasp the idea of creativity and run with it.

Incredibly, I have less than three weeks left in Nepal. The kids are already asking me not to leave. I calmly assure them that I will return as soon as I can and that they will be in my heart every day until then, but secretly my overactive imagination is already racing to find a way to bring me back into their lives. I know that it is a lot of money and that I really don't have the time to come back here any time soon, but there is no harm in wishing. After all, my ‘big dreams’ were what brought me here in the first place. And like my mom said, 'That was just the first step."