Follow the heart, not the pocketbook

I had a box of raisins for lunch today. Did I happen to eat your dream?

Langston Hughes once famously asked, "What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" Certainly, the last thing any Penn student would want to see is his or her dream dry up and wither away.

But along with hundreds of Penn students who plan on pursuing their dreams when they graduate, you'll find a sizeable number of dream-deferrers. These are people who know exactly what they'd like to do with their lives, but, rather than reaching for their dreams upon graduation, they say, "I'll do that later ? someday." It's a troubled mindset to have, one that's crippling our generation and one we need to rid ourselves of.

I'm sure you've witnessed dream-deferrers around campus ? they're hard to miss.

On the last day of class, one of my professors asked every student, "What do you want to do with your life?" One girl answered, "I've always wanted to do fashion ? but I'll do that later because I'll work in finance first."

Grabbing a beer at New Deck Tavern with a soon-to-be Penn grad, I asked him the same question, and I got a similar answer: "I'm going to work on Wall Street first, then retire early and do my own thing."

These are all recipes for unhappiness and major middle-age breakdowns. If you don't do what you're aching to do now, you'll regret it later and feel like the senior citizen in my College of General Studies class. I asked her why she was taking the class, and she answered, "Because I've always loved music but never got around to learning it. Better late than never." Yes, better late than never, but even better now than later.

Yet, if this is true, then why do so many of us choose to defer our dreams? Four cliched excuses: money, society, parents and fear of failure.

The first two are closely related: Society values money, and so if you're not rich then you must not be successful. This is precisely why so many Penn grads choose to overlook their passions and interests in the arts or humanities and just go to law school or Wall Street to earn big bucks.

However, money does not matter more today than it did a hundred years ago ? people have always needed it and always will. Instead, it is our society's anxiety over money that has increased, leading us all to believe that we must chase the almighty dollar, even at the expense of our dreams. And don't think that you can just give up a six-figure salary someday to follow your less financially lucrative dreams. When you've settled down and are earning that much money, you might have responsibilities and tastes that you can't easily walk away from.

As for society, society be damned ? no one except you should have a say in what you will do with your life.

One exception, however, are the parents. Since you are Mom and Dad's most valuable asset, they naturally have a right to advise and guide you in your life's pursuits. But don't let that guidance turn into domination. When I declared my philosophy major, my adviser told me about a mother and son whom he met at the College majors fair: The son stopped by to inquire about the philosophy major, and the mother automatically declared, "Oh no ? he's going to medical school, so he doesn't need this."

After taking several pre-med courses his freshman year and murdering his GPA, the student came back to declare the major, against the wishes of his over-bearing mother. The lesson is clear: Don't defer your plans for the sake of pleasing your parents.

But even then, you might fear what will happen should you try and fail. After all, not everyone can become a Yo-Yo Ma on the cello or a Donald Trump in business. Anyone can get a job and earn money ? that's easy. Few can succeed at making their dreams a reality.

Regardless, those who try and fail will still attain at least some level of psychological satisfaction, not to mention a relationship, a new job or a new friend that they may find along the way. This is where the wisdom of the old mantra comes in: "I would rather fail at something difficult than succeed at something easy." Hence, fear of failure is not a good enough reason to tuck your dreams under the carpet and settle for less.

So go out and do it. And do it now. Your greatest asset is your youth. Take advantage of it and don't let your dream end up like just another raisin in the sun ? or in my stomach.

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