Yesterday evening, after watching Addie perform a nice dance routine (she's half thug I swear), my older sister, Megan, her kiddos, and I came home. HOwever, when in the town of Protection, it is absolutely necessary to enjoy Don's cuisine at any possible moment. Praise the Lord for to-go orders. I, now at the kitchen table with Don's in hand, could not wait to bestow this deliciousness upon my tongue. Nikole, my bright, seven-year-old niece, sat down right next to me at the kitchen table, and we immediately dug in to our little white boxes.
About four bites in, I decided it was time to crack open that little head next to me. First, you must know this. Nikole is one of the most creative, imaginative, bright, beautiful second graders I know. HIlarious. You know those young children who are timid because they aren't exactly sure who they are yet? Yeah, she's about as far from that as possible. I love her to death.
Enough bragging. Here we are, digging in, and I finish chewing one bite of my chef salad with chicken, and ask something that I feel like I should already know. "Nikole, what exactly do you want to be when you grow up? Do you know?"
Her eyes lit up as she nodded and smiled that little gapped smile of hers. She definitely knew.
Her response amazed me. "Well, I want to be vet, doctor, nurse, a picture drawer, and a hiker. I want to be a hiker." Holy over achiever! How does one even respond to this? I mean, a hiker? Is that even such a thing? As I was trying to figure this out, she kept going, "Oh yeah, and I want to be a gardener, so I can grow green. (misunderstanding to 'going green' haha) Did you know that people kill trees? I'll stop that, too." Hahahaha, I swallowed my laughter, and replied, "Yeah, but we have to cut down trees to have paper. How are you going to solve the lack of paper? And this is where I nearly lost it. "Well, when I become President, I'll figure that out, too."
Okay, so by 'nearly', I mean I lost it. I laughed, all over that black table cloth covering the lovely kitchen table.
But what was funny about this whole situation was the innocence and honesty behind each one of these statements. She legitimately thinks she is going to be all of these things, and from her, I feel like I can learn so much.
Do you remember those days? The days when you honestly believed in yourself? That you could be absolutely anything you wanted to be. I mean, I do. I was going to be a scientist. A paleontologist to be exact. And on the side, I was going to play basketball. I was a boss. Doing it all, no problem.
Then one day, life hits, and everyone throws their dreams aside. Why? Because you're not smart enough. You're not tall enough. You're not athletic enough. You're too diabetic (ha, jk). You're not pretty enough. And the lists of insecurities go on and on.
Yes, I do believe that some people need to understand they just won't be a famous singer because they cannot stay on pitch for their life. However, I also think that people throw their dreams away too easily. I know sometimes life shoots other dreams your way as well. Those dreams morph and become your reality. Yet so many people settle for something less.
I don't want to settle.
No, my dream is no longer to be a paleontologist nor a basketball player. I realized I despise science and history, and high school basketball made me want to vomit more than smile. My dreams have changed.
I feel like I can learn so much from young children. I can? I do. Addie, my little sister, has taught me more about compassion and selflessness in the last month than I have learned in a lifetime. Nikole, last night, successfully taught me that dreaming big is something to be cherished, remembered, and treasured.
So my new goal is to dream like a seven-year-old. Though they may have small bodies, they have huge imaginations and very high hopes.
Love to all,
the Lone Woolf
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