An unknown person once wrote “Never let it be said that to dream is a waste of ones time, for dreams are our realities in waiting, in dreams we plant the seeds of our future.” I, Melissa M., am a dreamer. For as long as I can remember, I have had an imagination that runs long and wild. I am an avid believer in striving to leave a mark in the world we spend each and every day on. Although I have always had this attitude, I can distinctly remember when this whole idea of dreaming big fell into my mind, New Year’s Eve of my freshman year.

Contrary to many others my age, I spent New Year’s Eve 2011 at Mercy Hospital in Blue Springs, Missouri. On that treacherous night, I watched my aunt take her last breaths. My aunt had been battling cancer for four years and on that night the toll of this evil disease took her life. Alice was the women I turned to for everything and watching her struggle with every breath she took was the most difficult thing I have had witness in my life. Her death was not quick and painless, but long and excruciating. To let go of someone you care about so deeply while they still have so much life to live is unbearable. At Alice’s burial, my family and I released pink balloons up into the sky in memory of her amazing life, and in that moment I realized God has a plan for everything.

In this tragic instant at the cemetery, I found peace and a new beginning. Watching her die made me realize how short and unpredictable life really is. We only get this one life to live and we cannot change the cards we are dealt. I made a promise to myself that I would not leave this life with nothing to be proud of and feel as though I did not truly live. I realized the only thing that is certain is the present, so I needed to start living in the moment. In my opinion, when you go through life bitter and mad, it is simply a waste of a good day you have on this beautiful earth. Whatever you want to be, aspire and work hard to achieve that goal. The only thing coming between you and your dreams is yourself. Think about if we all stopped trying, what a scary world we would be living in. Life is a gift, you can be anyone you want to be, so what is holding so many of us back from being incredible? I believe we limit ourselves because we simply don’t believe in ourselves.

I have this theory that if the everyone discovered the best version of their true selves and worked hard to fulfill their dreams, we would be nothing short of heroes. As we look around we can find so much hate, violence, and poverty in the world, but the source of all this evil is humankind as a whole. So many people hide and live fake lives without any desire to help others. Maybe if we started to save ourselves, we could save the world. Each and every one of us have the power to dream and become heroes. Always believe in the beauty and strength of your dreams because in them we enter a world that is entirely our own.