Building Castles in the Sky by MacKenzie

Building Castles in the Sky by MacKenzie - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

Inspirational quotes aren’t necessarily hard to come by, as anybody who was anybody had a few encouraging and inspirational things to say. Despite the grand collection of motivating gems, one stood out, shining more than the others. “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.” –Henry David Thoreau. These words speak volumes to young adults trying to find their place in the world, and also to adults who have found a place, but don’t know where to go from there.

“If you have built castles in the air,” the idea of building castles in the air means to have grand ideas, and dreams that one counts on, or models their lives after in order to achieve those air born castles. The second part of that sentence, “your work need not be lost,” explains that though these castles really are just dreams, the effort and time that one spent trying to make those dreams up shall not be in vain. Henry David wanted to encourage young people to keep dreaming. There is no point in deserting these dreams due to a little discouragement.

Thoreau sends young people into action with this final sentence, “Now put foundations under them.” This makes the quote take a different direction, so instead of just encouraging young people to be dreamers, he encourages them to become actioneers. Thoreau’s words sends young people out to change their lives, and the lives of people that they surround themselves with.

This quote has encouraged me not to give up. It has given me the confidence to keep dreaming, and the motivation to keep working as hard as I can to achieve those dreams. I am a born dreamer, but when the people in my life told me that I needed to grow up, face reality and start putting forth effort, I was crushed. But my action without vision turned into just as much of a mess as my vision without action. Henry David’s words not only gave me the assurance to dream, but it gave me the hope, that if I took actions to achieve my dreams, that I really could do so.

Henry David Thoreau wasn’t just talking about air born castles. He was helping young people, including myself, to make dreams become reality. Despite what some might say, it is the dreamers who can also take action that are the ones that make the world a better place. Good things come from compromise, that is, the compromise between being a dreamer and an actioneer. I believe I am an actioneer with a dream, and this quote gives me the courage I need to take the initiative.