Take a risk, take a chance, make a change...dreamers vs. settlers

It's done. I have a confirmed ticket to Paris for Monday, January 3rd at 7am. Against the advice and judgement of family imploring me to stay put and take the more financially secure route, I have decided to go to France with or without the wishes of a Bon Voyage.

I remember last year having a conversation with my friend, ML about the differences between people who settle and people who dream. We were nearing the end of our spring semester and were getting nostalgic about college coming to a close and our upcoming summers that would take us to opposite sides of the world. It was then that we had developed our theory on dreamers vs. settlers. We decided that settlers were people that stayed within the confines of their comfort zones; they stuck to the path most traveled and chose what was safe and secure. In contrast, to the eye of a settler dreamers would seem irrational and irrevocably in-over-their-heads as they took risks and made choices that seemed improbable.

I am a dreamer, every decision I have made proves it is in my very nature to push the envelope and seek out what others deem impossible. In my decisions I frequently face opposition but never yield and never give up on the dream I am carrying. Now, having purchased this ticket to France, I am both filled with excitement and fear over what will come. Compared to some of my other friends, my path is less stable and predictable. My best friend has found herself a job and midwest apartment and is taking the route my family undoubtedly wishes I had. Her immediate future is secure and safe while mine is unknown. I guess a part of me always knew this is how it would go; that I would start my life with a risk and high hopes that it would pay off. That's the thing about being a dreamer, you can't reassure anyone, even yourself, that the chances you take will result in anything. I know that's why my parents wish I would fall under the definition of a settler just this once and give us all the guarantee that I won't be broke, unemployed and homeless after my travels.

If I have learned anything in my 23 years of living it is that one can bounce back from financial difficulties, one can find a crappy job to carry them over as they look for better things and one can find roommates and a cramped apartment to live in as they raise money; but one cannot easily bounce back from regret. This is my rationale and this is my driving force, this is the reason I have not yielded to family disapproval or warnings; I know that when push comes to shove I would be the only one carrying the regret of not following this dream.

--the Post-Grad

(seemed appropriate)