If you have at all ever felt a passion towards something, then you understand what it was like to have had to walk away from it.

Be it a sport, a hobby, an instrument, or anything that invoked love and happiness within you – the moment you had to give it up was one of the hardest of your life.

You probably don’t think about it too much now because life is so busy, and it’s so hard to dwell on the past when the present is constantly moving and hey, you’re doing totally fine. Your life is great and some days, you don’t even remember what it is you had to leave behind to get to where you are now.

And then some days, it hits you that no matter how great life is now, that passion in your soul still aches for what you used to love so much.

I remember the first time I wrote my first story at 7-years-old with some beaten up crayons and old colored paper that my mom had hidden in the red cabinet behind our living room chair. The story was a whopping five sentences about a boy named Tim who desperately wanted to find a treasure chest with his friends only to find it hidden under a rock with a secret passage.

Pretty wild.

But from that moment, I knew that writing was my one great passion.

I wrote practically every day. None of the stories I came up with were very good (of course, I had the vocabulary of a second grader) but I didn’t really pay much attention to how well I was writing, but just did it because it made me so happy every time I finished another “story.” I would make my whole family read it. My teachers, my friends, my coaches, they all got to read at least one story of mine because I wanted to share with them the passion that I had for writing.

I got my first story published in fourth grade in an actual book comprised of short stories written by kids 18 years and younger. That book still sits proudly on my bookshelf at home and while I don’t think my writing is as good as I once thought it was, it still symbolizes that passions can be real if you work for it.

Then senior year of high school came and so did college applications. And each one asked me what I was looking to get out of their college, what I wanted to major in, etc. And while every part of me wanted so desperately to scream and declare, “Creative writing. That's what I want to do!” I knew I couldn’t.

My parents, bless their souls, and practically every other adult in my life told me it wasn’t practical. And while I knew this at the time, I still wanted so badly to write for a living. It was what I needed in my life. It made me happy.

But just like most things we love in life, we have to walk away from them eventually. And while my life is great now and I am very passionate about my major, my one true love is writing. I try to keep writing as often as I can, but sometimes it’s hard.

Life is busy, and I forget about it.

To all the people who have left their passions and dreams behind, just know that it’s okay to be sad about it and miss it. It’s okay to wonder what could have happened had you continued to pursue it. It might have been impractical at the time and you’re happy with where you’re at now, but a dream doesn’t just go away.

That love and happiness that came from that dream of yours will always be there and that doesn’t make what you are doing now instead any less important.

But, I know you that think about that moment you had to hang up your cleats for the last time, put down your paintbrush, place your clarinet back in your closet, or stop auditioning for leads in plays a lot. Most everyone has that moment in their life because sometimes, it’s just what is best for you at that moment.

To the people who stuck with their dreams no matter how impractical people told them it was, but have beat the odds and shown everyone that they were wrong, you inspire me. And I wish I had been that person, sometimes. You continue to stick with your passions and live your whole life with that love and happiness. I envy you.

But I have found new passions in my life and new dreams. And I know the other people who have left their dreams behind will find new ones, too, if you have not already.

However, dreams never truly leave and if you can, continue to hold onto your old ones, even in the tiniest way possible. Although writing isn’t necessarily the focus of my future, I continue to write as often as I can (and for the Odyssey as of very recently) in order to keep that happiness glowing within me.

Life is busy and practicality means everything in the world we live in, but no matter what your dreams are, whether they be old ones or new, they are yours. Make the most of them.

Have no regrets and continue to find new dreams or stick with the old ones. In the end, it all comes down to what you make of it.