When I was five years old, my parents enrolled me into acting classes just to get me into some type of activity. Like most young kids, I was involved with dance lessons, gymnastics, and, well, only four days of basketball, but none of those activities lasted nearly as long as my acting did considering I’ve been acting for a decade now. 

Passions are a tricky subject. Usually, people take years to discover what drives their life. Even some working adults do not know where their passion lies. Finding a passion is harder than it may seem. But it is almost obvious when someone finds their passion- there’s no questioning whether you are passionate about something. 

I knew from a very young age that my passion was acting. I fell in love with performing and putting on a show immediately. I also knew that I wanted to act for the rest of my life. 

The acting profession is not a guaranteed job. You’re never guaranteed a role. You’re never guaranteed an incoming paycheck. I have been told multiple times that going into this occupation is too risky and that I should look at other options. More stable options.

Of course, it’s great to have multiple interests in life and to explore different opportunities. But I know what I want to spend my life doing and I am willing to work very hard to get there. 

Now, this is not about my passion and how I plan on making it my professional job. This is about inspiring others to simply follow their dreams and to not let other people tell them differently. 

“Follow your dream.” 

Everyone’s heard it. People preach it. But who actually listens to one of the most common statements known. It is such an easy phrase to say to someone, but how does one actually “follow their dreams”?

The key is determination, hard work, and simply putting your mind to what you want and making it happen. There’s no instruction manual. No one can write out step-by-step how to make a dream a reality. Life is life. It will only happen the way one wants it to if the work is put in. 

People who make their dreams happen believe that they can. Anyone can accomplish anything they want to. Self-confidence is key. Everything and anything is possible.

Risks. Life is completely full of them. It could be something on a smaller scale like choosing not to study for an upcoming test and just winging it or something on a larger scale like jumping out of a plane and skydiving. 

You cannot avoid risks, but what happens when risks play into what one plans on doing to make money? Risky professions are well, risky. They are not huge money-making jobs. Usually, the people who go into those occupations, though, are not looking for major amounts of money. 

This is where “following your dreams” gets tough. Some people dream of becoming a doctor. Boom, money maker. Some people dream of becoming a lawyer. Boom, money maker. Then there are people like me, who dream of becoming an actress. Boom, not a money maker. 

My question is should people spend their lives working at a job that pays well, but makes them completely miserable even thinking about it or should they take that risk of following their dreams even if it is not the most stable job? 

Personally, I believe being happy with your life is far more important than spending an entire lifetime tormented by your occupation. 

Now, I am not saying that providing for yourself is not important and people should not think about that aspect of life. But if someone wants to work a job that is a risky profession, then they will and should find a way to make that a possibility and still be able to provide for themselves. 

Everything one does in life involves some level of risk. If someone wants something bad enough and is willing to do everything in their power to make it happen, then who’s to say they shouldn’t?

If “following your dreams” means working hard, having the absolute passion to keep getting up after every fall, pushing past all the people standing in the way, and still continuing to run towards that overall goal, then everyone should be allowed to follow their dreams even if it is a risk. 

Do you have a dream? Do you have something that makes you just so excited? Do you have something in your life that you simply enjoy doing so much that you know you have to do it for the rest of your life? But do you have people telling you that you should look at something different to do? Something more stable? More predictable? Are you doubting whether you should actually follow your dream?

Well, listen up. I want to be the person to tell you that you can and should pursue that dream. Do it. I believe you can. Go after it. Do everything in your power to make that dream a reality. This is your life. You only get one chance to make it the way you want. What are you waiting for?

Leap after that dream. Run after that dream. Once you catch up to it, though, do not let it get away. Always do what makes you the happiest. Pursue what drives your life. 

Follow your dreams.