To Anyone Who Feels Like They’re Chasing An Impractical Dream

For those who are pursuing a career or a passion that to most people seems outlandish, crazy, or out of the ordinary-despite the judgment they might receive. For those who go to college to major in something that doesn’t seem to lead to a stable or practical job-or even those who don’t attend college at all in order to pursue experience. For every person who has been given the sympathetic look followed by the lecture of why you should choose a different path instead of taking the one your heart screams for you to journey.

I support you.

It seems silly to say, doesn’t it? I don’t even know you. I don’t know what you want to do, or what it will take for you to achieve it. You may be one of the lucky people who have tons of support in pursuing something that strays from the typical. Yet for so many, support comes in small doses while criticism comes in waves. So I want you to know that I believe in you, and that I understand where you’re coming from. I wrote this for you.

This is for every person who second guesses if they should really pursue the thing they love, simply because job openings come few and far between. Who question if maybe they should go for something that will make more money, so they can support a family, or even just themselves, with nicer things that the world deems necessary. Who ask themselves if they really should go through with chasing this dream, knowing in their heart before they finish the question the answer is yes.

You understand what it’s like to have someone who you look up to and admire tell you that what you want to do is risky, if they are nice, or foolish, if they are blunt. How it feels to have many people ready to tell you facts about what you’re pursuing-percentages on how often people make it in your field, statistics on how much money you’ll make, etc-yet few people standing behind you and saying they believe in and support you.

You recognize that doing what you love may mean not always loving what you have to do to get there. Whether it means taking extra courses in college, or working a bunch of retail short term jobs in between doing what you love. You have not only understood, but accepted that sacrifice is necessary.

Investing your money into something that may fail, moving to an unfamiliar place to have a chance, turning down jobs that won’t lead you where you’re going, even if they are well paying. Not simply thinking that rejection could happen to you, but knowing it will-over and over. Yet you get back up and try again the next day, because when you’re passionate about something, you realize that nothing else will satisfy the fire burning your soul than pursuing what you feel called to do.

You understand that there are a lot of important jobs in this world-ones that are necessary to our everyday lives. You hold nothing against the future doctors, nurses, lawyers and social workers-you in fact have a lot of respect for these people. Yet you also know that those jobs aren’t for you. You know that they have their callings and you have yours, and that just because theirs is more socially accepted, doesn’t make your dreams less valid. It simply means you’re going to have to work even harder to prove what you’re doing is worth it.

So if you’re questioning whether you should give up on a dream that seems as unattainable as the stars in the galaxy, or you’re afraid that what you’re doing is going to be looked down upon-please don’t give up. Know you’re not alone. Appreciate life for what it is and what it offers-yet don’t be afraid to stand with the dreamers.