Last night I had the opportunity to attend the MORE Women’s Conference at Shorter University. The focus of the conference was dreaming bigger. As we went around the room and shared our biggest dreams, I realized that I had been limiting myself. I dreamed small dreams, such as making good grades, getting a job for the summer, and graduating college. While those dreams are great for now, what about the rest of my life? After I have achieved those dreams, what then? So I asked myself what my mark on the world would be. What would I be remembered for? What would be my legacy?

I thought back to when I was young and I dreamed of being the next J.K. Rowling. I remembered how I had always answered the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” A writer. That dream had seemed so tangible then, so simple to achieve. Go to college, get an English degree, write a book, get published. Easy. It wasn’t until I got older that phrases like “one in a million chance” and “I guess you can always be a teacher” entered my life. Allowing those comments into my mind caused that dream I had held for so long to pull the blankets over its head and hide.

So other dreams came to take its place. I tried looking for other “more secure” passions. I liked computers, so I tried majoring in computer science. Turns out, I’m terrified of math. So I tried journalism. That’s still writing, right? Well for an introvert, interviews were a nightmare. Honestly, what else did I expect from a field called “Communications?” So when I started my sophomore year, I went back to English.

It was like coming home. You know the moment you hear a song or see a movie that you adored as a child and all the memories come flooding back? That’s how I felt in that moment. I would spend the rest of my college years studying books and authors who had inspired me for so long. I was reading stories again instead of computer data and political highlights. I knew I was finally in the right place.

Now the dreaded question: What do I plan on doing with my degree? To tell the truth, I have no idea. Maybe I won’t find a career right away. J.K. Rowling was at financial rock bottom when she wrote one of our generation’s most beloved series, Harry Potter. Maybe I’ll try getting published. Dr. Seuss was rejected by twenty-seven publishers before finding one who believed in him. Maybe I’ll further my education. Both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien were college professors before writing The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings, respectively. Or maybe I’ll just teach high school. Lin-Manuel Miranda was a high school English teacher before writing the award winning scripts for Hamilton and In the Heights.

If I’ve learned anything from this crazy adventure called college, it’s this: Don’t give up on your dreams, no matter what the world tells you. The world is going to tell you it’s impossible. It’s your job to do the impossible.