Laying in bed, a boy of barely six shuts his eyes as flashes of firefighters and superheroes race through his mind. Panning around the room, one would see a varied assortment of fire trucks and other childhood what-nots, but the main focus is a distant framed picture: an ever-smiling dad, clad in red and punctuated by a repetitive promise; “I want to be just like you, Daddy.” Similar to the boy’s fascination with heroes and dreams of even filling the shoes of his biggest hero, we also have dreams that will better ourselves and others and give life a sense of adventure.
With big dreams come big responsibilities and accomplishments, thus thrusting one into an edification process, bettering themselves and consequently others. To illustrate, long days, even longer nights, and countless hours of tedious work embody a doctor(or Doctor-to-be)’s life. However, they still push through, when in reality, they really didn’t have to set such high goals and dreams. Seemingly endless hours at the bedside of the ill where the last hope is a well knowledged doctor puts immense pressure on said doctor(s). Without those high dreamers, where would the world be? Back to colonial times where someone with such a minor thing as a common cold is left to die? Thankfully, people have stepped up, dreaming big, bettering themselves and others through their works. With ambitions soaring, they save lives and fulfill passions one dream at a time. Pushing against the current of lethargy and indifference, one would find that dreams save. They’re real. They’re at the tip of the tongue, ready to be savored and grasped and given a breath of life. Likewise, Martin Luther King grasped this with his famous proclamation of “I have a dream!”, which was filled with such gusto and pride, despite the inevitable persecution, that it encouraged other dreamers to speak up. Thus, he started a movement that kick-started the end of segregation, paving a path for abolitionists and ultimately shifting societal morals to those promoting the so-called idea that “All men are created equal”- an idea that was supposed to be the foundation of America. Had his dreams not been so ambitious, the course of the world would be changed. Marching through the streets of the narrow-minded, blinded by socially acceptable norms, straight on to Capitol Hill, proved to be a gigantic accomplishment for him and his people. Hence, history shows us that steadfast dreams can truly move mountains.
Also, dreams are what separate human beings from mere robots, mechanically going about life with no hope because they lack adventure and meaning. To illustrate, in The Glass Menagerie, Tom’s dreams for adventure with the Marine Merchants or simply just being unbound from the holds of the restricting boa of his house were so overwhelming that it literally drove him to the brink of insanity. Pursuing his yearn for adventure, he left his tiresome job at the warehouse to do what really made him feel alive, and jumped into the real world head first. For, living in a house of lackadaisical puppets isn’t the meaning of life; the meaning of life is to give life meaning, which is only acquired through having and following dreams. Lastly, sometimes dreams are paradoxically the only hold unto reality. Such as in The Things They Carried, where countless memoirs from the past and hopes for the future assuage their need for meaning. Like Mark Fossie bringing his beloved to war and planning a future with her despite the horrors abounding, thinking it would keep him alive in theory. Reliving past hopes of the American dream (white picket fence, a dream job, and 2.5 kids) is what truly gave their lives meaning in the hell of Nam. Literature is a representation of the mind and body, therefore, though fictional, these dreams are not just figments of the imagination, but instead a glimpse of how the crave for meaning and thrill are satisfied.
Years later, that once-young dreaming boy slips into his black boots and helmet, catches one last glimpse of the picture on his nightstand, and dashes out of the door into another day of mystery, adventure, and fulfilled dreams.