If you ask my father what he does for work, he’ll tell you he is the Vice President of commercial sales for a commercial real estate business. If you ask him what he wishes he was doing for work, he will tell you the story about how he always dreamed of being a marine biologist. I have heard this story a million times throughout my life with more than half of those times occurring in the few years since I’ve graduated high school. My dad doesn’t tell me this story to talk about himself or to try to convince me to pursue his dream. He tells me this story because he regrets not going for his dream and doesn’t want to see me do the same. My dad always says he “went for the fast money” rather than going for what really mattered to him. He has always said that quote that goes something like, “If you do something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life,” which I’m sure many dads tell their kids from time to time. But I know that my dad means this and that if he could go back in his life and do it all over again, he would stay in school and work to become a marine biologist.

If there is one thing that everyone knows about my dad, it is that he loves the water-- the happiest memories I have with my dad are almost all on a boat or near the water. I know he thinks, every day, how different his life might be had he decided to go for his dream and I know he pushes his kids to run fast and hard towards our dreams so that we never have to feel that way.

All of this is to say that the best advice my dad has ever given me is to follow my dreams and trust that the rest will come in time. He has always encouraged me to reach for what I want and refuse to settle for anything less. This life is difficult to navigate, but knowing I have a father who supports my dreams 100% makes everyday a little easier.