Children are blessed with a gift that usually dwindles away as the years go on and as they get older. This gift is seeing the world in all its beauty and wonder - what's more, is seeing themselves as becoming anything they want to be. Princesses, cowboys, astronauts, billionaires...the mind of a child knows no limits nor boundaries, and one of the greatest parts of this fantastic imagination is the ability it gives children to envision themselves doing anything or being anyone they want to be without considering all of the potential obstacles. When I was a child, I saw myself as a marine biologist, or the first female president, or an actress, and the best part about each given scenario was the similarity between them all - that the world I would grow into and whoever I would grow up to be was full of opportunity, as well as promise.
Sadly, as we grow, we tend to become jaded. We take things as they come for how they are, and tend to succumb to the idea that we can't, in fact, be whatever we want to be, and that we must make the most of everything rather than already having it. This is reality. The most cruel aspect of reality is that some people are given everything without having to work much for it, and it is often such the case that these people are not good people - making them "undeserving" to those who have to work for each and every "good" thing in their lives.
However, all hope is not lost. One thing we learn as we grow is to focus on the things that we can have an impact on. We can't change the fact that sometimes, good things happen to bad people, or that someone who didn't deserve something and got it, while someone else who worked hard for it and "should've" been given the same opportunity did not, or that in reality, we can't always grow up to be a princess or a cowboy or an actress or a scientist. Sometimes life gets in the way and there are factors that are beyond our control. However, there is one thing that is always entirely contingent upon who and how we are as human beings...perspective.
Regardless of how old we get, the same child we once saw in the mirror is still inside of us. Rather than life making you bitter, and making you believe that you can't do anything you put your mind to, remember that in this modern day and age, you can do or be anything, and that while obstacles put in your way will undoubtedly be trying at times, they are meant not only to give you knowledge about yourself and the world around you, but to make you stronger. Don't forget, convince yourself, or believe even for a second that it's ever too far-off or too late or too difficult to be or do whatever you want to. Reach your fullest potential, and enjoy yourself along the way, even when the road seems long and packed to the brim with trials and tribulations. Never lose your childlike sense of wonder, or appreciation for the world on which you live; moreover, each time you tell yourself you can't do anything, consider that perhaps a negative perspective could be all that is standing in your way.
