"Do not ever let somebody tell you that you cannot do something. You got a dream, protect it. If you want something, go get it. Period."

With tear-blurry eyes, this statement lingers in my mind after watching Will Smith's movie, Pursuit of Happiness. This thought might have also crossed your minds. You are setting your foot forward to do something that you think will get you into a higher level. Somehow, as if drifted by an external force, a negative comment grasps you down a rabbit hole and next thing you know, you are organizing a self-pity party and you all ended up having a Twilight movie marathon instead.

Following your dreams is not always all it was professed to be. When you watch a movie about someone who is following his/her dreams, the prevalent narrative formula leads you to believe that after one or two rejections and a couple of hours, you will eventually get what you exactly yearn. In reality, the world behaves somewhat differently. For some people, this dream path may work, but for most of us, the avenue to our dreams is long, rocky and unanticipated.

Nonetheless, none of this denotes that the pursuit of dreams is not worthwhile. Consequently, the experience of pursuing your dreams is often more fulfilling and more enlightening than the realization of your dream itself.

When you encounter an obstacle, revamp it into opportunity. Low grades? Study harder. Financial problem? Be resourceful. Rejection? Stop dwelling on it. You have the choice. You can surmount and be a winner, or allow it to overcome you and be a sore loser. It is better to be burned out from success than to be relaxed from failure. As what they say, "Do not give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you". So, refuse to throw in the towel.

The movie is over. Your life continues to roll. This is it. This is the day. The day you are going to get things done.

This inspiring article was written by April Joy Lacamento, one of my Campus Journalism students, during our article writing workshop. I find her output worth-sharing because I believe that there's a lot of students out there, just like her, who feels like giving up. Don't you dare give up on your dreams. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.

April is now on her fourth year in college as a practice teacher and she's also looking forward to becoming an English teacher in the near future.

Please upvote and resteem this post if you were also inspired by April's article. Share us your thoughts on the comments section below.

Follow me at @juliusdiam :)