Daniella Grijalva
Kimberly Smith
English 250
09 December 2013
Don’t stop believing.
Following our dreams is something we all pursue as humans in our everyday lives. “Life is too short, SO FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS” by Jake Barnes and Kendra Santos is an article that talks about how we have to give our soul and heart on everything we do because it can all end at any time. I truly believe if we don’t take the chance to shoot for what we really want in life that chance is going to go away. Like my mom says “If you don’t take that chance someone else will”.
Jake Barnes is a man who was hesitant about joining the PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association) until a friend of his came and convince him to join the association. That good friend of his told him if he did not join he was going to have a life full of regrets, so he decided to take a shot, he was not willing to look back wondering himself “What if” so he just went for it. One of the few things Barnes’s hated was to have regrets in life. “If you have a dream, give yourself a chance and give it a try” said Barnes. The majority of the people give up their dreams because it is so hard to leave what they’ve been doing with their lives and take a new course in life when they will be new brighter beginnings waiting for them. But this is how I see it. What it’s hard, is to let go of what you really want, at least for me that is the hardest part of all. My dad went through some experience where he had to let go of his dream job because his English is very low, seeing him sad and depressed for almost 2 weeks was hard but at the same time I gained something positive from all the negativity that was happening. I learned to never settle less than what I want and deserve. My dad deserves the best job, but he has been doing things that are not benefiting his knowledge, he rather do something else than go to school. Seeing him not being able to express his ideas and share his thoughts with English spoken people makes me sad and frustrated, frustrated because I have to be the one translating for me and sad because I remember when I came to the U.S for the very first time and people used to talk to me in English and I had no idea what to respond back.
To accomplish your dreams you have to have clear instructions and clear thoughts about where to go and what to do, take advantage of the opportunities life has to offers and know how to play the game so when it comes your turn to play it by yourself you can be prepared of what’s coming to you. “If you want something bad enough, you need to put your mind to it, study it and work at it. You can go as far as you want in life. You can come from any walk of life.” Determination is another key for success, have a goal in life and just go for it, don’t let people tell you otherwise.
When I was done reading this article I was speechless of how many things I’ve been doing wrong with my life. There was a part when Barnes said “You can’t hang your hat on excuses. The world is full of them.” (53). That is so true, I’ve been hanging on excuses of why at times I don’t do my work for school or why I just don’t want to keep going at times, because I often remind myself that I am an immigrant and that I will have no chance on making it in this country. As Celia once said to me “That’s a total lie”. I have the same chance as other U.S citizen students on making it and have a great future in this wonderful country.
What stood up to me about this article is that this can emotionally hit everyone, it doesn’t matter our age or gender, we all had given up in that one dream. We’ve taken shortcuts in life because we think it is going to be easier for us to accomplish our goals and tasks but that is not always the case. “The key to success is hard work” and hard work always pays off. My mentor has taught me that when it comes down to working hard I have to stay focused if I want to learn and experience and enjoy the good things that the hard work has to offer me.