“Do I have a responsibility to my dreams?”

Whether we realize it or not, at the start of our college careers we are asked this question.

We know we have a voice to share or a contribution to give. We know that we have a business to start or a skill to master. We have a vision or a goal that we want to pursue, but we don’t know if we should.

This struggle is due to the age-old dichotomy between stability and passion.

So much of our early time in college is anxiety-ridden over this dichotomy, and many of us struggle amongst our peers who seemingly have it all together.

While we would like to pursue our dreams, many of them can require the sacrifice of benefits, insurance, and income consistency. This is especially true if our dreams involve self-employment or the arts of any kind.

For example, in my own daily effort, this dichotomy is persistent. My personal pursuit is that of both an entrepreneur and an artist; I run my own business in video production while I work to grow my portfolio in creative filmmaking.

Therefore, as I am now in my third year of college, I understand this plight. While I feel so called to what I am passionate about, the pull of stability and security can feel so strong.

Yet, I know that the pursuit of who I am inside, and who I could become in time, is something that I have an immense responsibility to.

And this responsibility is clear to me, though many would argue that I have a responsibility to the standards deemed realistic for a life in modern America. They would argue that I should recognize my limits and do enough to achieve comfortablility.

However, while I don’t disagree that we should recognize our limits, we should not let these limits keep us from reaching our fullest potential.

They shouldn’t keep us comfortable. Instead, in our recognition of our limits, we should be motivated to push past our limits as we work toward our greater goals.

Our recognition of our limits should lead us to fully recognize our responsibility to the voice and vision that only we can bring to the world.

We know that we have a passion to pursue, and we shouldn’t abandon it for the sake of security. We shouldn’t assume that our dreams aren’t worth it without at least giving them a chance.

We each, all of us, have a story to share and a mission to go on. We all have a unique perspective.

It will be difficult. It will push us beyond our comforts. Yet, we are all called to the responsibility that we have to our dreams.