Why I Believe That Dreams Really Do Come True

Something I have always told myself: dreams do come true. Ever since I was young, I have always been one to dream big (some might say even borderline unrealistic). As I grew older, my dreams changed. I realized that some dreams I had always carried with me were not really my dreams at all, whereas others continued to persist. One of the biggest dreams I have always held onto is writing. Another dream of mine is to move to New York City and work for a publishing company; I love books and I want to see how they are made.

These are my dreams that I thought would become more clear when I started college here at UCLA. However, when I first stepped onto campus, I felt like I was at risk of losing my dreams. I initially did not want to go UCLA. Here in LA, I was going to be majoring in English instead of Creative Writing, which was the major I had hoped to pursue if I could have afforded a private art school in New York City. Nevertheless, the same sentence kept running through my mind: dreams do come true. In reality, UCLA ended up being the best fit. I could not have asked to go to a better school. At UCLA, I was able to learn so much about various industries – one of them being publishing. While I initially did not believe my dreams would come true, at UCLA they slowly became realized. Even though things were not going the way I originally planned, I was now recognizing that in order to achieve my dreams I did not need to do things in a specific way. One of the most important things that I have learned in my two years at UCLA is that it is okay if things do not go as planned; these unexpected situations can allow for the greatest possibility of growth and exploration. 

For example, had I gone to private art school in New York, I would be in crippling debt right now and only about to enter my third year, rather than having less debt and graduating early. Additionally, I would not have had the opportunity to write for an organization like Her Campus and the UCLA V-Day Coalition, or dance in Grupo Folklórico de UCLA. The way the English major is structured here at UCLA has allowed me to explore so many of my interests outside of writing. This curriculum ultimately led me to create another dream of wanting to work in the publishing industry.

A huge reason why I believe that dreams do come true is because I have been gifted the opportunity to write, after wanting to do so for so long. A large part of myself was gate-keeping writing because I felt like my work would not be good enough. I have now learned that as long as I love what I am writing about, then everything will be okay and work out the way it is meant to. 

The path you take towards achieving your dreams is not what matters. What really matters is the dreams themselves. It is important to remember that it is also okay for your changes to change or grow. Once you know what those dreams are though- start running. Run towards those dreams and do not stop until you get there.

• Dreams
• English major
• her campus
• publishing
• writing