YOU CAN'T DO IT

"You can't do it." That's what silent liars say. Really? I think we can ALL do it, no matter what. I know those silent liars are not allowed to tell ME that. I know what is true in heart. I have a dream—a really BIG dream. And I have been working on it my entire life. This dream means more to me than anything else. It's my oxygen. And I intend to keep it.

I have faced a few obstacles that have made me want to cry, but the best part of that is how I learned how to face those obstacles, not run away from them. I felt amazing when I got rid of one obstacle after the other because I could see my dream in the air, hovering above me. It's staring back at me with its eyes, forcing my body to catch it and never letting it go. Sometimes, I find myself forgetting about that dream...because I get distracted with other things. As soon as I am given a sign of that dream, it's right there floating in front of me, yelling at me to get back to work and not forget it. It wants me to follow it and consume it with all my strength, and it's not going to stop until success explodes in the air—and around the world for all creatures to see.

I am a writer and I crave more life. Yes, I want my books to be out there to inspire people—to change their entire outlook on life—to make a difference—to bring people new ideas and create a dream of their own that will tell them to never give up. This is not the only thing I dream about, though. What really puts me over the edge is the fact that I want to be an animator. THAT is my strongest dream. THAT is what I crave more than anything.

I don't want to be any ordinary animator. I want to be THE animator with the skills of making my own animated show with my own animated characters using my own real voice. I created three special characters when I was only in seventh grade. When I looked at the draft of each character on the back of my drawing notebook as I was sitting alone by the lockers in school, I knew there was something there, and it was something HUGE. I had the most amazing feeling in the world right then and there. The characters talked back to me, thanking me for creating them and all I could do was smile back at them. When I drew the final draft and stared at my characters, I thought, "This is it. These people are going to change the world. They are going to make the world into something and it is going to be something HUGE." Then there was that amazing feeling I could not make out. The characters felt more alive than ever. It was as if they sprang out of the pages, stood in front of me, looked at me with surprised expressions, and told me, "Please, don't forget us." I nodded my head with a tear or two and answered them. "Never. I won't. I won't allow myself!" I got to work and started the hardest project my hands could handle. It was the biggest struggle I had ever experienced. The struggles were like putting your hands into the burning lava on the ground. Was that struggle a waste? NO! It wasn't! Every ounce of hard work was paying off and it was going to pay off even more when I know people are going to see, hear and feel what I have done. Yes, sometimes, I do feel like this all might be a waste and I may never listen to the sound of my dream again, but I didn't stop, and because I didn't stop, I created a whole world—a whole NEW world—filled with my divine imagination and my divine voice.

Then I forget about my dream once again. I am in a driving car, staring out at the horizon whenever I think about this dream. Every single time, in the distance, I see a rather too-realistic vision of my three characters staring at me with faces. They know when I have forgotten about them, and when they do, they give me sad faces, but when they know that I still have faith in them, they continue to watch me with smiles—and from time to time, they wave at me with intense enthusiasm. Their laughter is heard. OH, WHAT BEAUTIFUL LAUGHTER! That's when I get visions that tell me, "This is what is going to happen." And what I see is people with the knowledge of my works—of my characters—in the stores or on TV, and I am able to tell my loved ones, "Look at what I have made. This is IT and it's MINE. I have filled my heart, made a difference and inspired many people to create their own ideas. I have found what I was looking for." My characters aren't just silly drawings on a piece of ripped paper. They create meaningful lives. When I snap back into reality with a slightly sad feeling, I smile with a hint of joy inside me because I know I am going to face so many obstacles, but also so many opportunities that I am going to succeed in taking. And that is why NO ONE is allowed to tell me: "YOU CAN'T DO IT."