Follow That Dream
The following excerpt is a letter taken
from a collection titled ‘My Daughter,
My Friend’, by Irene Chua. Here
she shares her deepest thoughts as
a mother with her daughter, Ming.
The letters celebrate the special bond
that often exists between a mother
and her teenage daughter. The mother
shares valuable insights into life,
equipping her daughter for its challenges.
19 June 1995
Dear Ming,
By all means follow that dream.
Great men and women become great because they
have a dream and they pursue it till it comes true.
What differentiates greatness from the ordinary
is how much effort and sacrifice people invest to
realise their dream. Do you know that to reach
world-class standard in any field, one has to be
singularly and intensively pursuing the subject
for at least ten years?
It starts with a passion for a particular interest,
then comes the conviction that it is imperative
to realise it. Count the cost in years of effort,
financial investments and sacrifice. Then if it is
still burning in your blood and you are ready to
commit yourself to the task, plunge. It could be in
any field—sports, science, arts, business, or design.
The road may be uphill most of the way and often
you are buoyed up only by the knowledge that
insight:
clear and deep
understanding
singularly:
exclusively
imperative:
necessary
plunge:
throw oneself
into the
activity
buoyed up:
kept afloat
you are doing what you love best and are doing
the right thing. When stamina is running out, the
prospect of success will keep you on track.
When you watch the Academy Awards for best
actors and actresses and films, the winner always
thanks a host of people that formed his/her support
network. So, you see that for one winner, there is a
group of people who stood by him/her.
It is good to be able to fulfil your dreams but for
a lot of people, dreams remain dreams. Although
everyone at one time or other has wistfully said
to oneself, “I wish I could be this or the other,”
they have never got beyond just wishful thinking.
They could have preferred to trade their dream
for security. Perhaps circumstances changed
their lives. I know of people whose dream was to
go to the then RafÒes College, now the National
University of Singapore, but the Japanese invasion
during World War II changed forever their
destiny. I know too, of people who had wished
to finish secondary school but they had to go out
to work so that they could support their siblings
through school.
No, I am not going to put a wet blanket on your
dreams, … but you will also have to consider the
years you need to chase your dream.
After all the obstacles are considered, if the
burning conviction is still coursing through your
veins, then go ahead and do something about it.
From my own experience, life itself may change
a person’s dreams. These hopes and aspirations are
no less than the original dream of younger days.
To fulfill them you will need to negotiate a path
through a maze of hurdles. The dream will take a
much longer time to realise, and the people who
are participants in your dreamscape would be
many more. For example, publishing this book is a
dream I have chased in the last ten years. This was
not the dream I had
in my youth but my
original dream has
changed over the
years. I am really
quite excited about
it. So, I wish at least
one of your dreams
comes true too.
Love, Mum
dreamscape:
a world of
dreams
Believe in Yourself
Step up to the challenge
There is no crowd to see,
It’s just you and the future
And where you want to be.
Will it pull you forward
Or push you back in fear?
Difficult are choices
When the future is getting near.
There is such ease in comfort
To maintain the status quo,
But this isn’t what we are made for
This isn’t how we grow.
The first step is the hardest
There is no turning back,
You just need to believe in yourself
For your future to be on track.
Robert Langley