Letter to the Editor: Follow your dreams

MJ Martinez, Adviser

As a person, I’ve always loved to learn. So when I graduated three years ago from UConn, prepared to enter adulthood, I knew that it was only a matter of time before I became restless with wanting to simply know more. But the bug bit sooner than expected when I went on a field trip to Columbia University with my journalism students.

As I sat in the 200-seater lecture hall, I knew it was time to do it. That same week, I decided to go back to graduate school, justifying to myself that I would if, and only if, all of the pieces easily aligned: the application, my letter of intent, my recommendation letters and a schedule that easily corresponded with my pre-existing duties. Lo and behold, it all worked out on my behalf; I started graduate school two months after submitting my application.

With at least two novels and five pages of writing due a week, I found myself tired, exhausted and, at times, overwhelmed. There were hectic nights where my new puppy ran around my feet begging for attention, I simultaneously monitored the timer on the oven, took a break from reading Pride and Prejudice so that I could respond to the fiftieth unread work email.

But my exhaustion was never so much that it had scorched my drive to keep going. Every time I felt the desire to quit, something wonderful happened: a student had that “aha” moment in class, I met someone in a seminar class that furthered my thinking or my puppy finally learned to go potty outside after weeks of excruciating potty training.

It’s okay to be stressed and overwhelmed. Now is your time to do all the things you want to do. Life doesn’t end when you graduate high school or college. Responsibilities don’t result in a loss of freedom. You can continuously liberate yourself by pursuing your dreams and doing what you love. Stress is expected, and it’s okay as long as what you are doing is for the betterment of yourself. That sigh of relief is sweeter when it came after hard work. Do what will give you longterm benefits, not just the things that feel right for the moment.

People say to “never take on more than you can handle” and “it’s okay to say ‘no’.” While both are true, it’s fine to test your boundaries and limits. It’s impossible to know them until you creep up to the edge. And the more you carefully flirt with that line, you’ll notice how it slowly moves further and further away from its origin.