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My whole life, my mother has always told me to "follow my dreams" or to "do what makes me happy", but I cannot help but to simply wonder if maybe she has said these things only because she is a mother and it is necessary for her to often use wise words of encouragement. Yesterday in my environmental science class, my teacher decided to show us a video that was a bit off topic from PragerU.com, a website that offers a variety of videos that cover significant topics such as political science, environmental science, philosophy, and so much more. The video was titled, "Don't Follow Your Passion", and basically went in-depth with the idea that we are often told to "follow our dreams", yet the people telling us do so, do not even have the slightest clue as to what our aspirations are and also covered the fact that certain people have dreams that are too unrealistic, for example, someone who is too diminutive cannot play in the NBA. In some rare circumstances, this is considered to be true, however the shortest person to ever play in the NBA was Muggsy Bogues, who is approximately five feet and three inches. Bogues is known to be an exceptional basketball player and has even played on teams such as the Hornets, Raptors, Bullets, and even the Warriors. Due to his height, I am sure that throughout Bogues' career, people may have discouraged him and told him that his aspirations were too unrealistic, but I cannot help to wonder, what if he gave up? The most incredible thing to me is that he didn't. Now you may argue with me here and say that he's the one in a million. But my oh my, that is wrong. The reason why Bogues was able to play for these substantial basketball teams was the fact that he had perseverance, persistence, and passion. The video that we viewed in class left me quite flabbergasted, due to the fact that it hardly even covered the idea of having a good work ethic. I am proud to say that I am firm believer in hard work and if you truly give it all you got, then almost any dream you can think of is possible. Now for a moment, think of The Little Engine That Could. There is a moment in the story where the train is struggling to roll over the mountain, but keeps repeating the phrase "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can" numerous times. Once the train was able to roll over the mountain, it happily said the phrase "I thought I could!". The book was published in 1930, but even if you have that mindset today, if you genuinely believe that you can do something, and you work to the very best of your abilities, then you most likely will. Throughout the road of achieving your goals and aspirations, there will be some bumps in the road, but what is important is that you do not give up, no matter the circumstances. People will also tell you that it simply isn't worth it or to not even bother, but you must not give in to what they're saying. You have to go for it, because as time passes by, you will only wonder, what would've happened, what you should've done, and what you could've achieved. As this piece comes to an end, I just want to say to whoever is reading this, please, please, please do not give up. Everyone has a dream, but unfortunately many people give up on that dream and look back on all the amazing things they could have achieved and the people they could have made proud, especially themselves. With hard work, dedication, and faith, it is possible. Thank you for reading and have a great day.
With lots of love, Kylee