have a dream

I had an unsettling discussion with one of my co-workers yesterday that I haven't quite be able to wrap my head around yet, so I'm writing about it. This guy is the same age as me, and is about to start his second year of college, and we both have a bright future ahead of us.

I grew up in a small town (population about 2000) and had about 100 people in my graduating class. We all knew that the town we grew up in had given us a good life, but if order for us to continue growing, we had to leave. Neither of us had any intention of ever coming back. Some went on to be track stars at A&M and UTSA, one got accepted to Baylor on a scholarship and will soon be traveling the world, another is about to launch her own business, but we are all trying to live our dream. We're all trying to be successful. 

I didn't go to school with this co-worker, but I just assumed that everyone wanted something more. After having our conversation it was clear to me, he didn't want anything more than to just go back home after he graduated. I tried explaining to him that I am willing to go to extreme lengths to make my dream come true so that I can leave my home town and be successful, and all he did was laugh and say to me, "that's what they all say." It's as if he was submitting to the fight, before the fight had even begun. That's just baffling to me.

Now I don't want to dis his future. Some people are simple and don't need extravagant lives to be happy, but he's an incredibly smart guy and a very hard worker and I just feel like he's capable of so much more. 

Wait, I got it.

Everyone my age needs to have a dream. If you can figure out what you want to do early on, you can start to build a life that is full and meaningful. I guess it doesn't matter what that dream is, as long as you're happy with the life that comes with it, then you'll be successful.