Andrew Davis
English 101.008
Pease
Final Essay #8
12/12/10
Dreams
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” This is a great quote from Epicurus and it touches on the idea that you can achieve the goals you have set for yourself now just as you did with the things you have accomplished that were once dreams themselves. I agree with this idea and this quote. It is applicable with things as small as a to-do list all the way to aspirations as high as the job, woman, and life of your dreams.
I myself have three different kinds of dreams. There are the dreams I have while I’m lying in my bed sleeping where I wake up, adjust back to reality, and forget about the dream all together. There are the dreams I have of things I intend to do in my future, such as graduating, getting married, and eventually having kids of my own. Then there is the third kind, the “If you could have anything” dreams. To answer this question, you have to focus on it because it’s not usually something someone can easily just come up with off the top of their head. The story of my dream where I could have absolutely anything I want would go a little something like this.
On a warm fall night, I’m sitting in my parked car with windows down, letting the breeze flow through the car. My beautiful wife of thirteen years is holding my hand as we ramble back and forth about both of our days. What’s special about this night? Nothing as far as I’m concerned, I’m just winding down after a day at the public high school where I work. When I heard a kid whining for some change to buy a pack of big league chew from the concession stand, I immediately turn to my wife and tell her about one of my students and his “excuse of the day”. Danielle chuckled, and then says, “Oh, he’s on deck!” The September campfire smell filters through the car and takes me back to when I was kid playing third base for the Scott Township Firebirds.
I was up to bat hitting in the five spot of the batting line up, which was particularly good for me, seeing as I wasn’t one of the best hitters on the team. The score was 5-4, we were down, and there was a runner on first. I’ll never forget it, that first pitch came, and I crushed it. I stared at the ball thinking, “That’s gonna go.” I started running and as I rounded first, that ball hit on the yellow corrugated tubing at the top of the fence. I murmured under my breath words I probably shouldn’t have been saying as a twelve year old boy, but that was as close as I had ever come to hitting a homerun. I could hear my coach yell, “Let’s go Davis!” I rounded second base quickly, realizing I could still turn this hit into an inside-the-park homerun. That was until my coached flashed a sign that broke my spirits, the stop sign. I came to a halt at third base while the ball was still in center field. I looked up at my coach who could only cheer and say “Nice hit, now Cassidy will get you in!” We won that game on my score, but that was the closest I would ever get to a homerun.
My wife shook my shoulder and told me to grab the camera because our son was up to bat. He was a spitting image of me with her dark brown hair. I yelled out, “Let’s go Davis,” as he turned his face towards me, shook his head, and grinned. I focused the camera on him and on that first pitch he made solid contact. The ball soared and went directly over the Chevy truck that was parked a few cars down from us. I dropped the camera and jumped out of the car without even thinking. And when he crossed home plate, I was smiling from ear to ear. After high fiving his teammates, he made his way over to me with my arms wide open. I hugged him and whispered in his ear “You made my dream come true!” I never gave up on my childhood dream; it just grew as I did.