Chasing dreams. It is what every one of us in this world is doing. Some choose to chase their parent's dreams because of tradition or to express their love. Others only desire to help with their friend's dreams either because they are unsure of their own, or hope to help someone else to reach theirs. Most find dreams of their own and chase them endlessly.

Sometimes it seems an easy and frivolous chase; the exhilaration of following what we love, the joy of seeing the progress and improvements made. We may even find our steps lighter and our smiles larger. Time flows faster around us and we find ourselves lost in the wonders that these things bring. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, we are stopped on our path. People and things in our lives begin to bar us from what we desire.

Often, it can be difficult and disheartening. Struggles arise like great mountains covering our hopes and dreams from view. We fight to climb these mountains, constantly falling short of the mark, we look around to find inspiration, and when we do, we stand up and try again. Anything and everything becomes fair game for inspiration at first. An insect crawling over a comparatively enormous leaf, the trees reaching for the sky, the children around us falling, scraping their knees and jumping up almost immediately with laughter on their lips. We all seek out inspiration. From our earliest moments, tales of heroes and princesses have often inspired us to continue our journeys.

Today's world of animation allows those very stories come to life! Seeing them. Hearing them. Understanding these characters to an entirely different level. We live failures and trumps with these beloved characters and meet many new and unexpected inspirations! As they grow, we grow.

In movies and shows we observe these heroes. We are the spectators. Watching them learn and grow. Rooting for them when no one around them seems to be. Although they do not hear us, we shout for them, we cry for them, and we cheer for them. We hope for them because we hope for ourselves and for those we love.

With animation, we also have the opportunity to BE these heroes! Video games allow us to help make choices, to solve both simple and difficult problems. Choices are placed before us and we learn right and wrong ones. We can play through the very lives of our heroes and help them to accomplish their goals. By doing so we can also feel a sense of accomplishment.

For many people--myself included--the dream is to create these inspirations through these mediums, to bring to life the very things that at times were the only things that could bring us back to life when we felt all was lost. This is the world of animation. I hope throughout my time here to share parts of this world with everyone. That as I follow my dreams, it may allow you to continue to chase your own.