Sydney_Alice Week 106: Dare to Dream

Sydney Alice
Thursday


Picture 1


Picture 2


Sydney Alice's Choice: Picture 2

Title:
Dare to Dream

When I was twelve, our favorite game to play at sleepovers was “Truth or Dare.” I always asked for truth, because I was afraid … of everything. Heights. Spiders. Tornadoes. The dark. You name it, and I was afraid of it.

I was afraid of the truth too, but at least that didn’t involve me actually having to do anything. It was a one-word answer, always.

True.

False.

And if I had to lie, so be it.

My phobias followed me to high school. I’d always been a decent student (I sucked at Algebra but excelled at English), and I’d always loved to write. I wasn’t afraid of pen and paper. I wasn’t afraid to pour my soul into a poem or short story. In that world, I could be anything. Do anything. Say anything.

I could be brave.

My senior-level Honors English class was full of future doctors and lawyers. Compared to theirs, my dreams for the future seemed mediocre. Teaching? Writing? Music? A combination of the three? My friends were going to colleges on the other side of the state, but I was content to attend our little community college right here in town.

I was afraid.

My English teacher had a banner on her wall. Her classroom was drab, just like all the others, but this one colorful banner hung proudly.

Dare to Dream

Instead of reading Macbeth, I would gaze at that banner and think about my childhood, wishing that, just once, I hadn’t been afraid to take the dare.

Then I realized I had my chance now.

I could dare to dream, couldn’t I? Daring to dream didn’t involve heights, spiders, or the dark.

I could dream with pen and paper, right?

So, that’s what I did.

Eventually, pen and paper were set aside for a computer, but I continued writing. I wrote fact and fiction. I wrote love and heartache. I wrote silly poems that made sense to no one. I wrote about a wizard with lightning on his forehead, and I wrote about a sparkly vampire and his immortal love for a mortal girl.

And now I’m writing my first novel.

Dare to dream.

You never know what might happen.