Dream by Cassidy

Dream by Cassidy - January 2016 Scholarship Essay

I dream modest dreams that fill the heads of several success-hungry people. I refuse to let myself get irrational, because I will not set myself up for failure. I’ll dream sweetly a dream just outside of my reach. A dream that I can dip my toes in, but cannot quite jump in yet because I’m not sure I can swim in it’s depths. I have a dream of happiness and success, but I’ll accept that nightmares can creep in every once in awhile. I’ll dream of love and joy, but I will be prepared for the pain if it comes my way.
My dream is of a simple yet gratifying life. I wish to better myself in every way possible, focusing first on my education. I know I should aim higher, but my goals for college consist of getting a scholarship for ECU. My reasoning for not going to a larger more expensive university, is that I cannot afford it, and if I could I wouldn’t want to leave home. My family needs me.
I want to receive a bachelor's degree as a registered nurse then apply in the NICU of any large hospital. I want to take classes towards becoming a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, so I can help families of sick and/or premature infants. My uncle warned me about this choice, because he was put in the NICU as a nurse for a while, and he simply couldn’t handle it, but it didn’t deter me. This job will have its’ emotional tolls, but it will be extremely gratifying to have the hands of a hero.
By the time I’m thirty I want to be living in a log home in a clearing in the woods near a pond or river. I want a wrap around porch and a vast green yard with a beautiful garden. I don’t care where I have to go to find this place, and it may take longer than the age of thirty, but I am determined. Like a bird is destined to fly, I am destined to live in this home I have conjured in my mind. Hopefully by then I’ll have found a love and started a family. While I am in no rush, it is a major part of my dream to love and be loved as well as becoming a mother in the far future.
As all other good things come to an end, eventually, so will my youth. I want to be ready to buckle down and retire comfortably with enough money to pay for my childrens college and their dreams. I’ll spend as much time as possible with my children, granting them the time I never had with my father, while my mother struggled to take the place of both parents. I’ll want to take care of my mother, and be an active part of her life, and have her in my childrens life a great deal. I would even have her move in if she chose. I would spend the remainder of my life, enjoying life. Being able to finally relax after hard work for years and years will be amazing.
I have planned nearly every aspect of my life, but I am not naive. I do know that there are detours and problems I will encounter. I realize that nothing in this world has a rulebook to follow, and I realize nothing is perfect for anyone. When problems come, I will be prepared, I have backup plans, and backup backup plans. I think a lot, about what I would like to be, what I would never want to be. I have many influences, good and bad, both affecting me in a positive way. I want to be the good in the lives of people around me, and I want to keep out the negative.