This was a speech I gave during the Charlie Sparks book event on May 22 in Fully Booked, BGC, Taguig.
I would like to thank everyone for coming and celebrating this milestone with me. Allow me to talk about the importance of active dreaming as this made Charlie Sparks possible.
While one popular song suggests that girls run the world, and to some extent, I, of course, agree, I think that more importantly, active dreamers do. Active dreamers run the world. Without dreamers who act on their dreams, we would have been brought back centuries worth of technology and culture. Recognizing that we owe the world to them, it is still surprising that we live in a very limiting society-- "You are too fat to be an actor," or "You are too short to be a flight stewardess." You will always be too something to be anything. If you go by the standards of somebody else, you will never be enough. It's because of this that it's of utmost importance that we always remember who we were as a child.
Dreams fuel us forward. We are all but made of dreams as stars are made of Hydrogen and Helium. Unfortunately, we live in a world where faceless and nameless monsters kill the innocent dreams of our childhood. That's a pity because I believe that it was when we were children that we defied man-made boundaries. We all thought we could be presidents, astronauts...we could be anything we wanted. I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to write a book in a country where books are left to collect dusts and where local writers are rare, if not unheard of. I didn't mind. I didn't have a computer to write 70,000 words. I didn't mind as well. I wrote in long hand. I didn't mind all those blocking my way because a child does not think twice-- a child does what a child must do.
Our dreams are who we are. When the world slapped me with rejection at age 13, I retreated and made sure that my failure in writing would be compensated with triumphs elsewhere. Aren't we all consumed by the yearning to win every single battle life throws at us? I've won many different battles after that failure, but if it's not a battle that matters to you, then what value does it add to your life? All roads led me back to that childhood dream. It just kept on following me. After all, it was who I've always been.
Today, as I thank you for celebrating the fulfillment of my dream, I encourage you to go back in time and make sure your days on earth would witness the fulfillment of your own dreams. Not all battles that matter, matter to you. Don't settle for the mountaintop when your place is in the stars. After all, a breathing man without any dream is a walking dead man.
I would like to thank everyone for coming and celebrating this milestone with me. Allow me to talk about the importance of active dreaming as this made Charlie Sparks possible.
While one popular song suggests that girls run the world, and to some extent, I, of course, agree, I think that more importantly, active dreamers do. Active dreamers run the world. Without dreamers who act on their dreams, we would have been brought back centuries worth of technology and culture. Recognizing that we owe the world to them, it is still surprising that we live in a very limiting society-- "You are too fat to be an actor," or "You are too short to be a flight stewardess." You will always be too something to be anything. If you go by the standards of somebody else, you will never be enough. It's because of this that it's of utmost importance that we always remember who we were as a child.
Dreams fuel us forward. We are all but made of dreams as stars are made of Hydrogen and Helium. Unfortunately, we live in a world where faceless and nameless monsters kill the innocent dreams of our childhood. That's a pity because I believe that it was when we were children that we defied man-made boundaries. We all thought we could be presidents, astronauts...we could be anything we wanted. I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to write a book in a country where books are left to collect dusts and where local writers are rare, if not unheard of. I didn't mind. I didn't have a computer to write 70,000 words. I didn't mind as well. I wrote in long hand. I didn't mind all those blocking my way because a child does not think twice-- a child does what a child must do.
Our dreams are who we are. When the world slapped me with rejection at age 13, I retreated and made sure that my failure in writing would be compensated with triumphs elsewhere. Aren't we all consumed by the yearning to win every single battle life throws at us? I've won many different battles after that failure, but if it's not a battle that matters to you, then what value does it add to your life? All roads led me back to that childhood dream. It just kept on following me. After all, it was who I've always been.
Today, as I thank you for celebrating the fulfillment of my dream, I encourage you to go back in time and make sure your days on earth would witness the fulfillment of your own dreams. Not all battles that matter, matter to you. Don't settle for the mountaintop when your place is in the stars. After all, a breathing man without any dream is a walking dead man.