A pair of wings to dream
揚起夢想的風帆
How I Made My Dreams Came True
Public schools are supposed to remove barriers so people can succeed. For some， the system does remove barriers and provide a solid base for achievement. For others， the system replaces one set of barriers with another. For example， creativity is killed by pressuring students to accept the status quo， by establishing a fear to be different and a fear of failure. Independent thinking is replaced by dependency. In some cases， pressure to excel in academics kills ethics， loyalty and motivation， skills needed for success in the real world. People who have a vision， that motivates them， can overcome all barriers with integrity intact.
My story begins in Summit， NJ， at the age of sixteen， where I am sitting in a classroom starring out the window. Out of the first window I could see myself exploring the jungles of South America searching for gold， I could see myself drifting down the Amazon River on a raft， I could see monkeys swinging through the trees， I could see myself as Tarzan swinging on a vine. Through the next window， I could see the bow of my sailboat plowing through the towering waves， heading toward the South Pacific. I could see myself on a white sand beach chasing girls.
Then BANG！ The teacher"s yardstick hitting my desk brought me back to the real world where subjects did not relate to my interest and dreamers are related to dummies. In a loud voice the teacher said， "You are a failure！ If you don"t pay attention you will continue to be a failure！"
When the bell rang， instead of going to the next class I walked out of school never to return. I was tired of being called a failure. Right or wrong， I took charge of my future. When I left school， I carried the single most important element for success… A DREAM. During the next twenty years， every one of my teenage dreams came true.
You may be asking， "How does one make their dreams come true？" There are three elements：
First—We must have a dream that motivates us. No one has ever achieved anything without a dream attached to a burning desire.