It is hard to follow your dreams. Yes, every TV show when you were 12 encouraged you to do it, but reality does not make it easy. There are so many ways to fail that sometimes it's hard to believe you will succeed.

Knowing how hard it is to follow your own dreams, consider that everyone else experiences that same struggle. And also consider that many successes are often celebrated among friends and family, not alone.

I've been writing for the Odyssey for a couple of months, but it took much consideration and procrastination to finally start writing. Writing has always been something personal for me, and not directly on my career path. Even though I knew that writing for fun would help my skills, I was nervous to put my writing out for the world to see.

My friends and family highly encouraged me to try it, and there was little chance of failing, so I did. And I really am so glad I started. One of the most encouraging parts of writing is when a friend comes up to me and says they liked my last article.

I'm not writing this so you start reading my articles. I'm writing this so everyone knows how encouraging the support is.

Writing is my passion project. It is something I like to do, but can easily become discouraged, so the small encouragements go a long way.

With this in mind, I started realizing how I could be more encouraging. Know what your friends are passionate about and what activities they are doing. In its nature, writing for The Odyssey is a public expression of my passion, but not every passion project is this way. Sometimes it's joining a club or editing a magazine.

Then you just have to act on your support. Like the club on Facebooks, read the magazine, ask how the planning is going, donate to their cause. Recognize that someone you care about is doing something they care about and be a person who fosters that growth.

A like and a comment go a long way in encouraging someone to pursue their passions. Everyone should pursue their passions and should be encouraged to do so.