Ever since I was a kid, I've loved to write stories. I filled abounding amounts of notebooks with stories I had just created inside of my head practically all the time. In grade school all the way throughout high school, English was always my favorite subject. I got to use my creativity in a way that I loved the most. For example, when I was in the sixth grade I literally wrote an entire book series for my classmates to read just for fun. Of course, the writing wasn't incredibly well written or anything because I was only in the sixth grade but I was practicing to better my writing 24/7.

As I got older, I began to question myself and what I wanted for my future. I remember my freshman year of high school and thinking that I had all the time in the world to think about what I was going to do with myself and what career I wanted. My only dream at that time was for the last bell at school on Friday to ring so that I could run right into my free weekend. I think the beginning of senior year was when it finally hit me: "What am I going to do?" "What do I want to do?"

I noticed as I was filling out applications and researching colleges that I kept choosing "safe" options. I kept picking career choices that would absolutely guarantee me a job, even if I didn't like it and it wasn't what I really wanted to do. Deep down I knew exactly what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be, but I was afraid of it. I knew I wanted to be a writer, I had always known that but I was afraid. I was afraid of failure and the complete unknown. I was my biggest road block.

Although this fear kept creeping back into my mind, clouding my decisions and stopping me from going after something that I really truly wanted, I found myself slowly starting to ease toward the "unsafe" route; the unknown. There were so many different thoughts going through my head at this time along with the bounteous amounts of people telling me a plethora of different things. This was my first mistake. You should never, ever let other people stop you from going after something that you really want. You and only you can decide what you want, no one else decides that for you. You can't let fear stop you from trying to achieve your dream. If we were to listen to that fear all the time, we would never ever try or accomplish anything at all because we would be too afraid to.

You cannot be afraid of what people will think or what people will say because that doesn't matter. People may be doubting you, telling you that your dream is impossible or crazy and that you won't achieve it. So what? Imagine the satisfaction of proving every single one of those people wrong. You have to take the doubting from others and sometimes even yourself and use it as fuel to get yourself there. So many people may tell you over and over that you can't do it, but guess what? You can!

Think about it this way....Would you rather go after your dream full force, working as hard as you possibly can to achieve something that you have always wanted? Or would you rather play it safe and always wonder what would've and could've happened had you followed your dream? I don't know about you, but I definitely don't want to live with that regret hanging over my shoulders for the rest of my life. If you want something bad enough, you will get it. You just have to work hard for it. If it's your dream, the work and the effort that must be put into it is worth it. Nothing in this life comes easy but you should never, ever let that stop you from getting something that you want or something that truly makes you happy. Take risks, open the new doors that will appear before you and close the old ones if you have to. Opportunities fall into the laps of those who truly work hard for what they want.

I have chosen to follow my dream of becoming a writer, maybe someday even become a writer of my own t.v. show. It won't be easy, but I am going to give it everything I've got until I get it. I will take risks and I will take every opportunity that I am so fortunately given. I will not let the doubters or the negative energy they cause to stop me from going after this dream of mine. I will not be afraid. I will go after my dream headfirst and strong, and you should too.