On Chasing Dreams

All of us direct our lives toward something – a career goal, living more intentionally, a relationship – but very few us direct our lives toward our dreams. Society too often reinforces the idea that dreams are for the young and that at some point, we must set aside childish things like dreaming for adult responsibilities, attainable milestones, and defined goals.

To me, dreams are the possible futures we imagine and then harbor in the safety our hearts. When we’re small, dreams are a little more frivolous and perhaps rooted in the fact that children are often wonderfully out of touch with the boundaries of what’s ‘possible’. As children, we’re unafraid to share our dreams as well, shouting to anyone who will listen that we’ll be astronauts or movie stars or professional athletes. As we grow and settle into the realities of adulthood, dreams turn from shouted proclamations to ideas shared in hushed tones and utter confidence.

From a young age, I’ve had a vivid imagination and passion for storytelling. I would build entire worlds as I played with friends, perform in plays, I wrote poetry and songs, and even fabricated tall-tales for the choice teacher. As I’ve grown, this passion has grown alongside me, leading me to other expressive outlets that tell stories like photography and writing and even arguably research.

During my master’s studies, I had the privilege to design research and write my thesis on how to enhance the achievability of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 – universal access to clean water and sanitation. While I am fiercely proud of the work I did and the conclusions I’ve drawn, I feel there is very little chance that my research will actually be used toward the ends I had hoped.

I still hold hope that my research will translate into something meaningful through publishing in academic journals, but I feel a burning desire inside me to do more than hope. Throughout my travels and during my research, I heard amazing stories of the ways humans and water are deeply interconnected. These were stories of innovation, stories of livelihoods, stories of struggle and beauty and purpose.

Every time I heard a new story, I felt a dream growing inside me – a dream to make these stories heard through filming them. At first, I kept the dream to myself and thought, “Who am I to tell these stories authentically? Also, I am not even a videographer…” But soon those thoughts gave ways to whispers shared with friends about the possibilities of what we could do after graduation. And soon those whispers gave way to freely discussed possibilities. And soon those possibilities turned into meetings and grant proposals and a flight to Mumbai to start a journey to capture stories about humans and water.

So here I am, chasing a dream.

I don’t know if I’ll be ‘successful’ here in India. I don’t know that I’ll achieve what I set out to do or if what I create will live up to that final product I am imagining. I do know however that harbored in the safety of our hearts, dreams are just dreams. Only when spoken aloud and chased can dreams become our reality.

I can’t wait to see where the chase takes me this time.