Because sometimes dreams just don't come true

I miss the world I once saw as a child. A world without problems. A world without pain. A world without lies. A world where the good guys won and the bad guys lost. A world where Mom and Dad had all the answers. A world where anything was possible.

But this is not the world we live in.

We live in an imperfect world run by imperfect people. Our presidents, our parents, our teachers, our neighbors — despite the outward appearance we all may put on, not a single one of us are perfect. None come even close. All too often I think we forget. All too often I think we sweep this under the rug.

It's always been this way and it always will be. So, I think it's time we begin to accept it. This is why things go wrong. This is why things will always go wrong. No matter how hard we try this is something we cannot fix. This is something that is here to stay.

So, instead of trying so hard to erase our imperfections I think we ought to begin to embrace them because they're a part of who we are. It's what makes us unique. It's what makes us human. Because those who truly love us will love us for our good as well as our bad, just as we ought to love them.

We are all human. We all make mistakes and we all deserve a second chance, maybe even a third and a fourth—as many as it takes to get it right. So long as we try our best. It's our intentions that count.

We cannot condemn and mentally belittle ourselves and others for every mistake we make for it is a trait we all hold common. Who am I to think myself better than you and vice versa? How are we supposed to pick each other up if we beat ourselves into the dirt every time we trip? We're all struggling so why not exercise a little compassion and understanding. Behind every cynic there's a broken idealist. And behind everyone's madness there is a suffering. It's easy to judge others when you don't know what they've been through.

And we've all been through a lot.

You see, what they don't tell you growing up is that the path you waylay for yourself will likely turn on its head. That most of what you will believe will turn out to be lies. And that half the dreams you'll have will die. What they ought to tell you is that you better get used to encountering disappointment in life because, more often than not, that is the outcome. However, don't give up hope. For there will always be those times, as rare as they may be, when everything pulls through, and it's because of such that, in the end, it all becomes worth it.

Contact Terran Scully at tscul2161@students.clark.edu.