Do You Start With Big Dreams — Or Smaller Ones?

Anna Myles was excited that her Alma mater chose her to give a victory speech to the graduating class of 2025.

She eased on stage, dressed in cool, calm, pastel pink from head to toes. The pink on her toenails glistens as the sunlight sneaks through the sunroof and touches her toes, comfortably resting in pink leather sandals.

She stared at the audience of more than six hundred graduates, trying to read expressions, hearts, intentions, hopes, dreams, and future, then dived in, “As a child, I was told to dream big.”

“Yeah, they told us that too,” many graduates revealed.

“But all of my big dreams blow up like a balloon with too much air,” she said.

Confusion lined many faces, and a voice in the middle aisle said, “But there is no future without dreams.”

“She is right,” someone adds.

“You all have dreams, right?” Anna asked.

“Yes!” they all sang like a chorus.

“With big dreams, the start is impossible,” Anna said, reading the confusion on many faces.

“What are you saying, that we shouldn’t dream big?” An angry voice in the end aisle to the left demands.

Anna smiled, her face turned to that direct location, then she asked, “Raise your hands if you all have big dreams?”

Only one hand didn’t go up.

Silence spoke for a few moments as all eyes turned to the only female who didn’t raise her hand. She was sitting in the front row of the middle aisle.

“How could you not dream big? Your GPA is above genius level!” a voice in the next aisle questioned.

“Yeah,” another voice said. “You make all of us look stupid. You must have big dreams to put in all of that hard work to earn good grades.”

“You came here on a scholarship, that means you worked damn hard to earn that glory!” someone else adds.

Someone handed her a cordless microphone, and she explained, standing to face the audience, “I watched my parents jump from one big dream to another, and none of them came true.”

“But not every dream comes through,” someone reminds everyone.

“I can’t start with a dream I didn’t grow,” she said.

Her words exploded in hearts, minds, souls, and intentions, and she went on, turned to face Anna before she could recover from her shock, “Dreams are like plants. It must start small from somewhere. Then we strengthened it with determination, innovation, dedication, creativity, knowledge, wisdom, love, kindness, thoughtfulness, commonsense, and anything else we think that aids in creating a stable foundation that will allow success to thrive and grow.”

Shock increased as more than six hundred pairs of eyes stared her down.

“My name is Gloria Allen, and I have been studying your life,” she said to Anna. “You grew your dreams and didn’t start from the top like the big dreamers.”

Tears filled Anna’s eyes as her life, struggles, and pain replayed in her heart and head. She signaled her up on stage. Hugged her and said, “I, too, was told to dream big. But none of my big dreams came through. It was then that I realized that my dreams must have a foundation, and the best foundation should start small, allowing growth.”

They cheered, and she continued when they stopped.

“Dreams need maintenance to grow while teaching you about life, giving you staying power. For some of us, the hard part isn’t getting there, it’s staying there. With big dreams, the foundation didn’t get a chance to develop and grow from strength, so there is only one direction. Down!.”

“I told my parents that they should start small. I showed them that nothing starts big, and if it does, it will only get smaller,” Gloria said, shrugging her shoulders as the painful memories of the disappointments her parents endured resurfaced. “They said I was a child and I don’t know anything about dreams.”

“You were a brilliant child. Nothing starts big as growth is needed in all areas of life,” Anna counseled.

“So dream big isn’t the correct message?” someone in the audience asked.

“I like to check the messenger before I take the message,” Anna said. “All of us must find a system that would allow our dreams to flourish.”

“What’s yours?” someone else asked.

“I listened to my dreams with a third ear and started growing them from scratch. I grow with my dreams while learning from them. I befriended my dreams. I take the time to know my dreams by their first names, so I know them personally. I am aware of its weaknesses and strengths. Likes and dislikes, too. I know my dreams more than it knows me. I talk to my dreams. Understand my dreams. Sometimes we war and fight too, but we come back together in unity. Because only in unity will success be achieved. Our dreams should be like our family and our good friends.”

The audience explodes into screams, then they chanted, “Know your dreams! Befriend your dreams! Grow your dreams! Don’t start big, start from scratch!”

Anna smiled. Then, after the noise died down, she counseled, “Starting small, you will grow with your dreams, and success will follow!”

Yes, we were told to dream big. But dreams need a foundation to grow from. Dreams need growth, and it must start small.

My dreams are like a meal for me. I keep improving its taste with innovation and creativity, which in turn improves my life, making success possible.

Thank you for reading this piece. I hope you enjoyed it.