Never to late to follow your dreams

I spoke with an old friend today. She's another writer who participated in the same writing group as I did for several years near Atlanta. We also went to graduate school together. My friend is a few years younger than me (not yet 30) and she has very strong ties to her family and community. For the last few years she has been tied (not unhappily) to the same area because her family, church community and work were all located there.

My friend didn't complain about this situation. Like I said, she was happy. But she also had the desire to travel to Argentina to work on a project researching and writing about blacks in Argentina. The mix of African and Latin cultures that occurred over centuries after slaves were brought to the new world by European travellers/settlers/explorers.

The project has always sounded interested and over the years it became apparent that this project was my friend's personal passion. She just hadn't been able to get to it. She said she found that it was easy to get caught up in daily life and put off the things you wanted to explore.

When we spoke my friend told me that she has finally filed the paperwork for a Fulbright scholarship that will help send her back to Argentina and help her pursue a PhD in Latin American studies. Both of which will combine to one day create a fascinating book about a unique culture.

What my friend's actions reminded me was that at any time you can choose to follow your dreams. You could wake up tomorrow or even next week and finally find the motivation and inspiration to start making your goals a reality. This is true for anyone at any age.

30 will not change this fact. So if you wake up the day before or after you turn 30 and decide that is the day to start to follow your dreams - you are a step closer than you ever were. Making the decision is the first step and it is never too late to take the first step!


Check out www.keepwriting.org for the writing group's website and writing samples.