STORY

"I BELIEVE THAT EVEN THE CRAZIEST DREAMS COME TRUE”

HEY, MY NAME IS ALEX, AND AS FAR BACK AS I CAN REMEMBER, I'VE ALWAYS LOVED TO CREATE, DRAW, AND MIX MUSIC. WHERE I COME FROM, IT'S UNCOMMON, AND IT'S EVEN LOOKED DOWN UPON TO BE PART OF THE SMALL POPULATION THAT STRAYS FROM THE ORDINARY. GENERALLY, MOST PEOPLE AIM TO BECOME, DOCTORS, ENGINEERS, LAWYERS AMONG OTHER PRESTIGIOUS CAREERS, SUPPOSEDLY ENSURING A LIFE OF WEALTH AND SUCCESS. SOCIETY HAS ALWAYS TOLD US WHAT DECISIONS TO MAKE IN OUR LIVES. YOU'RE BORN, WHEN YOU'RE OLD ENOUGH, YOU GO TO SCHOOL, THEN FROM SCHOOL TO COLLEGE, YOU GRADUATE, GET A STABLE JOB, GET MARRIED, HAVE KIDS, GO TO WORK FROM MONDAY TO FRIDAY TO EARN ENOUGH MONEY TO SUPPORT YOUR FAMILY, AND IF POSSIBLE, TAKE A VACATION ONCE A YEAR. YOU FALL INTO A VICIOUS CYCLE WHERE EVERY DAY YOUR ENERGY IS DRAINING AWAY. MANY PEOPLE FEEL COMFORTABLE IN THIS PREDICTABLE AND BORING LIFESTYLE. BUT THERE'S ANOTHER GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO, OVER THE YEARS, REALIZE THAT THEY WEREN'T HAPPY AND LEFT THEIR DREAMS BEHIND, FOR HAVING FOLLOWED EVERYONE ELSE.

IN MY MIND, IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN CLEAR WHAT I WANTED TO DO, BUT I COULD NEVER ADMIT THAT I WASN'T GOING IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS EVERYONE ELSE. I WASN'T SURE IF I WAS CAPABLE, IF I WAS TALENT, IF I WOULD BE SUPPORTED, AMONG VARIOUS OTHER NEGATIVE THOUGHTS THAT PREVENTED ME FROM FOLLOWING MY HEART. YEARS PASSED, I CAME TO THE UNITED STATES, LEARNED ENGLISH, WENT TO COLLEGE, GRADUATED, AND EVEN EARNED A MASTER'S DEGREE. IT WASN'T EASY TO WALK THIS PATH, AS I HAD TO FACE MY OWN UNIQUE ADVERSITY, POSITIVE AND AT TIMES NEGATIVE, ALLOWING ME TO GROW AND LEARN THAT IN THIS LIFE. NOTHING IS FOR FREE, AND EVERYTHING IS EARNED THROUGH YOUR EFFORTS. 

NEVERTHELESS, I WAS ABLE TO OVERCOME ALL THE CHALLENGES AND BE CONSIDERED AN EXAMPLE FOR MY LOVED ONES. BUT DESPITE ALL MY ACHIEVEMENTS, AT 28 YEARS OLD, I FELT EMPTY. ALL MY FRIENDS HAD STABLE JOBS, WIFES, EVEN CHILDREN, AND I STILL DOUBTED WHETHER IT WAS RIGHT TO CONTINUE DOWN THE PATH ALL MY FRIENDS HAD TAKEN OR TO START FROM SCRATCH IN A NEW STAGE OF MY LIFE, IN PURSUIT OF MY DREAMS.

I MADE THE DECISION TO LISTEN TO THAT LITTLE VOICE I HAD BEEN IGNORING FOR SO LONG, THE VOICE THAT WOULDN'T LET ME SLEEP AT NIGHT, THE VOICE THAT ALWAYS DISTRACTS ME DURING MY DAILY ROUTINE, THE VOICE THAT FILLS ME WITH HOPE, THE VOICE THAT GIVES ME THE STRENGTH TO CONTINUE, THE VOICE THAT TELLS ME THAT I HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO ACHIEVE ALL MY DREAMS AND ATTAIN THE HAPPINESS I'VE LOOKED FOR. 

HAPPINESS IS BASED ON DISCOVERY, HOPE, AND LISTENING TO YOUR HEART. TO BE HAPPY, YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON YOURSELF AND DEVELOP HABITS THAT KEEP YOU CONTINUOUSLY GROWING. THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IS DISCIPLINE. CONSIDERED THE GREATEST WAY TO DEMONSTRATE SELF-LOVE. I HAVE FOUND IMMENSE VALUE IN BEING ABLE TO IGNORE IMMEDIATE PLEASURE AND FOCUS ON LONG-TERM GAINS. IT'S ABOUT PURSUING YOUR DREAMS, KNOWING THAT THE PATH CAN BE PAINFUL AND LONELY. IT'S WHAT WE NEED TO BETTER OURSELVES, REACH OUR TRUE POTENTIAL, AND ACHIEVE THE LIFE WE'VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF.

SO, I STARTED. I EXPRESSED MY DREAM IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY. ALL I TALKED ABOUT WAS MY PROJECTS, WHAT I WAS CAPABLE OF, AND HOW HAPPY I WAS TO BE DOING WHAT I HAD ALWAYS DREAMED OF. AT FIRST, EVERYONE WAS EXCITED, BUT I WASN 'T ABLE TO SHOW IMMEDIATE RESULTS. DIFFERENT SITUATIONS THAT OCCURRED IN MY LIFE WERE ENOUGH EXCUSE TO SAY, 'NOW ISN'T THE TIME' OR 'I'LL DO IT TOMORROW.' TIME PASSED, EVERYONE AROUND ME CONTINUED ON THEIR PATH, AND I REMAINED STUCK IN A PROJECT THAT WAS BECOMING LESS AND LESS RELEVANT. I TRIED TO CONTINUE, MAKE NEW FRIENDS, FORGET ABOUT THE PROBLEMS, BUT THE DESPERATION WAS SO DEEP THAT MY ENERGY WAS NEARLY EXTINGUISHED. I KNEW THAT BY TAKING THIS PATH, IT WAS VERY LIKELY THAT I COULD LOSE EVERYTHING, BUT IT STILL PREVAILED AS THE BEST WAY TO FIND MEANING IN THIS LIFE. I WAS TIRED AND DISAPPOINTED WITH SO MANY DEFEATS, BUT SOMETIMES WE NEED TO FEEL TIRED TO REALIZE OUR MISTAKES AND MAKE THE NECESSARY CHANGES.

I STARTED AGAIN, AND SINCE THEN, I HAVEN'T STOPPED. I AM STILL SCARED, AND SOMETIMES I STILL WONDER, AM I DOING THE RIGHT THING. IS THIS MY PURPOSE? BUT I ANSWER MYSELF BY REMEMBERING THAT IF YOUR DREAMS DON'T SCARE YOU, THEY'RE NOT BIG ENOUGH. STEP BY STEP, I REGAINED MY CONFIDENCE, AS I REALIZED I HAD ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO BELIEVE THAT I'M BECOMING THE PERSON I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE. I FOUND STRENGTH, MET NEW PEOPLE, FELT RELEVANT AGAIN, LET GO OF ALL THOSE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS THAT MADE ME FEEL LESS, FORGAVE THE PEOPLE WHO HURT ME, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, FORGAVE MYSELF. FINALLY, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME, I'M PROUD OF WHAT I'VE ACHIEVED, AND MY ENERGY HAS RETURNED. 

ALL THOSE EXPERIENCES, CONNECTIONS, COMMITMENTS, LESSONS, LAUGHTER, TEARS, THE TIMES I WON AND THE TIMES I LOST WERE ALL I WAS EVER LOOKING FOR WHILE BECOMING THE PERSON I AM TODAY. SO, IF YOU'RE READING THIS, I HOPE IT HELPS YOU PURSUE YOUR DREAMS AND GIVES YOU THE CONFIDENCE TO SHOW THE WORLD THE ENERGY YOU CAN OFFER. DON'T WORRY ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK, JUST TRY, DON'T GIVE UP. HOPEFULLY, MANY PEOPLE WILL READ THIS MESSAGE, AND IT WILL REALLY MAKE YOU FEEL SOMETHING, OR PERHAPS IT WILL HELP YOU REALIZE THAT SOMETHING DEEP INSIDE IS CALLING YOU. LISTEN TO YOUR HEART, AND LET THIS ENERGY BE THE SIGNAL THAT HELPS YOU ACHIEVE THE LIFE YOU ONCE IMAGINED."

ALEX ROSNER aka AR+