To our ambitious hearts,

We were told from a young age that we can do anything we dream of. But as we get older, that group of people that seemed to be cheering us along from the sidelines has quickly diminished to a select few people, if any. Sure, we can do anything we set our minds to, but those “things” are not the dreams of being a prestigious doctor or lawyer that everyone was really talking about. Our dreams have been accomplished, changed or thrown to the way side since then.

But everyone has dreams; some that could be accomplished next week and some that are so out of reach that we almost have to laugh at ourselves because it’s so many more experiences away. So, what? We learn, we chase after our goals and, although we may get distracted at times, our ambition pushes us to keep striving for the dreams we still have because dreams without ambition are pointless fantasies.

Ambition is a funny thing. It’s hard to come by. Sometimes it comes at the beginning of a new year, but slowly slips away come the beginning of February. It’s easily distracted by small, quickly attained goals. But in the back of our minds, it makes us trudge on, no matter how rocky the road to the end may seem. It’s what gets us out of bed in the morning to gain another day of experience, another day that we come closer to whatever our “big dream” may be. And ambition is always there to believe in us when it seems as if no one else does.

It was not only our desire to achieve our goals that has gotten us to this point. We have put forth years of hard work, sleepless nights and hours spent crying when we felt that it was all just becoming too much. And every time we climb a mountain of trials, we glace back at all of the other mountains we’ve climbed and they appear to be just minor speed bumps in our journey of life. As we shift our focus from reflecting on the years of trials and triumphs to what is ahead of us, we can guarantee ourselves there will be another mountain that seems twice as tall and twice as difficult to defeat as the last. But with ambition at the top, cheering us along and experience as a guideline, we’ll conquer this one just as we have all the others.

So here’s to ambition. Thank you for being a push when we felt as if we couldn’t go on, and a pull when the mountain seemed too steep. Thank you for keeping our eyes on the prize and not getting too distracted by easily attained dreams. And lastly, thank you for never giving up on us when we felt that everyone else, including ourselves, did. Please never leave our side. There’s always a new adventure that will lead to a new dream.

Sincerely,

The Wallflowers