Follow Your Dreams, No Matter What
As a married Caucasian male in my late twenties, I'm not your "typical" hair braider. The fact is, though, that as far back as I can remember I've always been fascinated with the art of braiding. I was always amazed with the beauty and creativity in the different styles and designs. In high school, I remember being so excited about buying the premier issue of a popular braiding magazine. I still remember the excitement of first learning how to french braid, cornrow, and most recently, microbraid.
The truth is, however, that I've spent most of my life keeping this passion and interest for braiding hidden because I've been afraid of what people might think about me. I've been dishonest with myself and others because I've been listening to the voice of fear instead of the voice of truth.
As a career coach, I recently participated in a diversity retreat with the rest of my co-workers. In preparation for this retreat, the facilitators asked that we each come prepared to share something unique about ourselves or our families. As I reflected upon what to share, the Holy Spirit impressed upon my heart to share my passion and interest for hair braiding.
As I was waiting for my turn to come around, I was getting more and more nervous. What would everyone think of me now? Would they think that I'm weird? Would they laugh at me? As these thoughts raced through my mind, the Lord reminded me that He had made me perfectly unique with all of my special skills, interests and abilities.
And so today, I challenge you to dig deep down inside yourself to find your true passion. What is it that excites you and brings you alive? What is it that you love to do? What is the dream that lies deep within your heart?
Finding and sharing your dream is one of the scariest things that you'll ever do, because you risk having to face the past. Maybe there's something that you've buried deep down inside because you've been embarrassed, ashamed or even afraid to admit that it's your dream. Maybe you were laughed at because you couldn't do it good enough or fast enough. Maybe you were told that you shouldn't do it because you were a "boy" or a "girl". Maybe you were told, "You'll never be able to do that".
Whatever your story may be, I encourage you to face your fears, confront your demons and fight for your dream. Along the way, you will hear people's praises and their laughter, their applause and their sneers. The truth of the matter, though, is that the dream that you have is yours alone. No one can find it for you and no one can grow it for you.
As you continue on your own courageous journey to your dreams, so will I. I will sign up again for the community education hair braiding class - even though the receptionist automatically assumed that I was signing up for the class on behalf of my wife. I will choose to face my fears about how the instructor and the other students might react when I walk into the classroom.
The only thing that holds you and me back from our dreams is our own FEARS. While I will never be able to change the way people think about me, I can chose to change how I let them affect me. So what if someone snickers at me or laughs at me when I tell them about my passion for braiding? So what if someone tells me that I shouldn't ask questions, practice braiding or promote braiding?
I've made a promise to myself that I will not let anyone steal away my dream.
So, to all of us who share the same passion for the art of braiding, I bid you well. As Marquetta has already reminded us, the only way that we can get better is to continue practicing. Never give up on learning or on dreaming!
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By Randy Cripe
Oct 14, 2005 - 8:03:00 PM
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