Student Columnist – Ayesha Taylor
Everyone has dreams right? Not everyone gets to see those dreams become a reality but everyone has dreams.
Primary School
When we were young, around the age of 4/5, we could never make up our mind on what we would like to be in the future. We would say we wanted to be a policeman, fireman, teacher, lawyer, singer, dancer but did we ever stick to wanting to be one thing.
When we were young, we thought big and thought that there were no limitations on what we could achieve. Think about it when you were young and there was something you wanted to do, you would beg, ‘mummy please’, ‘daddy please’, ‘granny please’ if that didn’t work then you would cry, throw a tantrum just to get your mum/dad/nan to give in.
Take for instance that chocolate you loved, you wanted it soooo much, but your mum/dad/nan said no. You screwed up your face and put on the waterworks, eventually you got what you wanted right?, whether it was that day or later that week you still got that chocolate.
If only we still had that determination to get what we wanted when we are older . I’m not saying literally start crying or begging for that job, or begging for that record deal I’m saying putting more effort into getting to that stage, seizing opportunities, stopping at nothing to be successful, and making sure we have a plan B ready if necessary.
Secondary School
I’ve only recently finished secondary education, but there are a lot of lessons I have learnt. If you’re the same age as me, younger, or older you probably have experienced, experiencing or will experience the next point I am going to make.
During secondary education is thetime when you start to realise who your friends are. You may be thinking what the hell has this got to do with success, but it has a lot to do with it. Your friends/peers/acquaintances have a massive influence on your social life and education.
You should choose your friends wisely as a lot of people will set you up to knock you right down. To put this into perspective for you: there was probably a time when you were getting ready to go out with your friends, but you was not sure what to wear.
You picked out something from your wardrobe, tried it on and asked for a friend’s opinion they said “ermm i dunno if i like it.” You like it but from that comment your views start to change so you choose something else. The next outfit you put on, you are not too confident about it so again you ask you friend’s opinion.
They say“Jeeze, you look nice” or “yeah I prefer this outfit.” Sorry to say this, but the first outfit was most probably the better choice. Your friend just wanted to look better than you and they probably ‘got the good looking girls number’ or probably danced with the ‘hot guy’.
The ‘friends’ who persuaded you to come to that party when you know you have exams coming up are not the ‘friends’ you should be hanging around with. You should fill your friend’s circle with like minded people, those who will encourage you to do well, those who want to do well. Some of us have probably realised this too late and as a result, came out of school with no or rubbish qualifications.
If you know you have done badly but want to change, don’t see this as a complete failure: instead see it as an opportunity to improve and change.
Some teachers are not usually a big help either, if you are the person who has aspirations to become a journalist, businessman/woman Presenter (like me), musician, actor, dancer, singer, footballer.
You have probably heard a teacher or your parents say to you that’s not a stable career to have; this just knocks you down and gets you angry. If you’re passionate about what you want to be then stick to it and don’t let other people’s comments bring you down, though recognise that they just want you to make realistic career choices as not everyone can be a footballer right?
Always have a Plan B and allow education/experience to be part of plan A. Just because you want to be a singer/musician this doesn’t mean you should throw away your education.
The Present
Right now I’m studying, gaining experience in journalism and presenting as well as trying to build up my portfolio for when that big opportunity arises. In the future I want to be able to help other young people achieve their dreams and give them opportunities as there is not much around at the moment.
If you’re that person who still hasn’t achieved those dreams/goals or is on that road to success, I say no time is the right time to change except for right now. Believe in yourself if you want others to believe in you.
Work hard and be the best at everything you do. Its not going to be easy but it is not impossible. If others want to compete with you, let them watch you, but don’t watch them, just concentrate on your own goals. Don’t let failure affect you, take it positively because it’s an opportunity to look back at what went wrong and improve.
Hold on to those dreams and keep believing as you’re the only one who can make a difference, so have that desire for success and keep achieving.
