My Dream Life

As children we all dream, we dream about toys, monsters, castles, fairy tales and most importantly, we dream about our futures. I have always dreamed about success, but when I was younger I was not sure of what exactly success entailed. As I grew older and continued to grow physically, spiritually, and mentally I was able to discover my true aspirations and goals.

On September 28, 1990, I embarked on this journey called life. Due to me being a premature baby, I had a few complications in my early years of development. Also, my mother who I love dearly has been handicapped my entire life and the first couple of years of my life was wheel chair bound. Because of these two factors, I would mimic much of my behavior in my early years after her. For example, I did not walk until I was two years. This caused doctors and my mother to be concerned about my development. So for the first four years of my life, I went to a number of therapists.

For example, when my grandmother was young, she used to dream about being surrounded by a loving family. She was an orphan. She often tells me stories about how she would lie awake at night dreaming about just that. Many kids in her orphanage used to tell her that none of them were ever going to have a life like that “Why would we?” they said, “can you not see not even our parents wanted us!” Despite all the harsh words, she kept on dreaming and overcame all her obstacles and has reached her goal. Even though your goals might seem impossible, if you dream big you might get just that.

Like all kids my age, I’ve dreamed of success. I always subconsciously wanted to be known or be recognized for something. However, it was clear that I set up my life in a way that was inconceivable. My daily behavior revolved around apprehension. But, after reading this book, I reevaluated my attitude toward life. I didn’t have an immediate revelation, but it was clear that my personality was formed solely by negativity. In my mind, I was just a teenager “being myself,” but this was not going to give me the fulfillment that I envisioned. Deep down, I wanted to explore. I wanted to see new places and meet new people. However, I was set up as someone that will have a life that would be dictated by the fear of uncertainty. After this realization, it was clear I had two

I was born June 21, 1999, at Rainbow Children’s Hospital. When I was born, my feet were bent crooked. I had to wear casts on both of my feet until I turned one year old. I still even have my casts to this day. My Aunt Tricia chose my full name, Deja Monae Kent. I do not know how, but my mom thought I was a little boy and she was going to name me Devante (NO, the doctors did not tell her incorrect information). I really do not know where Deja came from, but Monae came from this baby at our church. The first couple of years of my life were beautiful. I was passed around from family member to family member on my mother’s side of the family every week; they just could not get enough of me or my smile.

Ever since I was little I have aspired to be something great in life, a chef, a pro. soccer player, and an artist. I still hold on to those dreams in hopes they will come true. All of these dreams shape who I am today. I play soccer for “Charlotte Soccer Academy” and previously for the “Waddell Soccer Team”. Both have kept me being a team player and a stronger leader. I go to visual arts camp over the summer and try to use creativity at any moment possible. I love making cupcakes and baking which also allow me to be creative. I have finally realized that all of these dreams originated from my family. I pursued soccer, like my parents did throughout their lives. I continue drawing, like my mother and father did until it became their life and jobs. I am still love making cakes and cupcakes every weekend, just like how i've seen my grandmother make them. Life has a very strange and mind-boggling way of turning out. I know that sounds cheesy, but it is really true.

It wasn’t a typical birth. I wasn’t a typical child. And it wasn’t a typical experience. Every day felt like an endless list of obstacles waiting to pounce on the life that I just wished was normal. From the doctors performing an emergency C-section to retrieve me to being diagnosed as asthmatic, from having eating difficulties to constantly being told I was underweight, I felt like a burden to everyone around me. If I wasn’t at the doctor’s office, waiting for the doctor to repeat over and over again on how I was under the growth charts, then I was probably puking in some car on the way home. If I wasn’t inhaling medicinal mists from a nebulizer every night to pacify my wheezing, I was most likely at the pharmacy, getting my new batch of a

Was there ever a time when you had dreamed of attaining a particular goal that you have worked so hard to achieve? In the movie After the Ball, the main character, Kate Kassall, was born into a family who took their designing careers very seriously. When Kate was a child, she had the dream of being a fashion designer like her parents. When Kate’s mother passed away, her father became distant and remarried. While Kate’s father was not in her life, it was her god-parents who supported and encouraged Kate to follow her dreams. Kate had just graduated from design school and was waiting for the opportunity of a lifetime: designing for a couture company. Finally, her day had come and Kate was being

The first story of my life was written by my mom. The early years after I was born on September 28, 2002 were fairly eventful. As a young child, I was “never needy and always good at sharing.” Whenever I was in a situation where something was being handed out at a party or in class, I would always wait until last to select. If nothing was left, I would still be content. If something was ever taken from me, I would look at my mother and say ‘Oh well!’ and continue. When I was three years old, having brunch with my mom and dad at Cindi’s Deli, I picked up a kid’s menu and started reading it on my own with no phonetics involved. I “just started reading.” This amazed my parents. This was followed by teaching my classmates how to solve exponents

You’re walking into your local gas station and you get your daily amenities. You pay for your soda and candy, although as you’re leaving the gas station you notice a piece of paper on the ground. You reach to pick up the paper and it’s a lottery ticket. Later that night as you watch your TV to see if you have the winning numbers, you hear the numbers and...YOU WON. As your cheerfully jumping until you hear this ringing noise. The more time that passes the louder the noise gets. Suddenly, as your eyes open your mom is calling your name. She says it’s time to wake up and you’re disappointed as you realize it was just a dream. What is a dream anyways? A dream is anything you aspired or hope to become within a specified time

As kids, we dream big for the future hoping we could soar through the sky or even become someone who makes a difference in this world. Every time I stepped outside my apartment and walked through the neighborhood looking at enormous houses. I asked my mom if we could move into one of those single-family homes, she replied “no tenemos suficiente dinero para mudar” which translates to “no we don’t have enough money to move.” I realized that based on my living situation we were almost poor.

In early 1977, the world as I knew it was slowly dissolving. My beloved grandfather became gravely ill, and transgressed to the next realm in August of 1981. This was a very dark difficult period for my family. The happiest days of my life were spent with my grandparents. It became extremely difficult to concentrate and control my emotions during this period. On June 6, 1984, the joy of my life was birthed into this world, my son. His birth signaled a new journey for me, setting a solid foundation for the rest of my life. I was a newly minted wife and mother with different responsibilities for the care and lives of two other people. This foundation helped me to deal with the blow of my grandmother transgressing from brain cancer less than one month after the birth of my son. My

In the Caribbean, a tropical and beautiful place, surrounded by blue and clear seawater. Lives ten-year-old Nakili. Adventurous and likes challenges, play’s on the beach with friends until the evening arrives. They will sit on the sand looking at the horizon, watching how the sunlight goes behind the multicolored seas, beyond the white breaking waves on the reef. Nakili was super inquisitive and dreamed of what could be beyond the ocean.

As a young boy, Naveen lived in a small, cozy home with his parents. Him and his father loved to cook together and they made the best gumbo in the city. Their dream was to open a restaurant together one day, so that night when Naveen’s mother and father were putting him to bed, he made a wish on an evening star and hoped that their dream would come true. As Naveen was growing up, he kept wishing and hoping to have his own restaurant but he knew deep down that wishing was not always enough. He worked really hard to try and make his dream come true but, with this came no time for fun or for love.

“One if these days, if fate has us in her plan we will meet again, you will follow your dreams Kammi and make the world proud” Braden whispers in my ear.