Dream it, Believe it, Do it

"Dream it, Believe it, Do it". Those words struck home for me back in the summer of 2007. Chip and I had gone to Edenton for his cousin's high school graduation. I saw those words on a sign in front of an elementary school and thought they were very inspiring. "Dream it, Believe it, Do it". It made me think, I have dreams, dreams that I believe in, so why not do it! Do what it takes to make those dreams come true. Those words meant so much to me I decided to adopt them as my mantra.

Well, it's been almost a year since that all-inspiring, mantra adopting day. And even though I still have dreams, and believe in them, I have yet to do anything about making them come true. I have not lived by those words. Until now.

First, Dream it. I have always loved to read. Judy Blume was one of my favorite authors when I was younger. Are You There God? It's Me Margaret was a classic in preteen angst. And what junior high school sleep over was complete without passing around a copy of Forever with all the dirty parts marked. Of course, I've outgrown Judy Blume (although she has written several adult books that were really good). I'm currently in a book club and we have read a variety of authors. I've been introduced to authors that I probably would never have read if I had not been in the book club. It's been great. But while it's great to read these books, my dream, the dream I've had for years, is to write books.

Second, Believe it. Those two words are really hard for me. It's easy to have dreams. It's easy to believe in those dreams. The hard part, for me anyway, is to believe in myself. I have not had the courage to believe that I can actually succeed at making my dream of being an author come true. I'm a scaredy cat. I have a fear of failure. I have a lack of self-confidence. And I have let my fears and lack of confidence hold me back from pursuing my dream. Well, I'm over it. I now believe I can do this. I believe that one day I will be an author. Will I be a best-selling author? Who knows? Will I even get published? Only time will tell. But just the fact that I have come to believe in myself means I have succeeded.

Finally, Do it. Now that I've said I believe I can write a book, I guess it's time to put my pen where my mouth is. It's time to start writing that book. I have several ideas, I just need to figure out how to get all my thoughts organized and on paper. To help with that, I've decided to take a novel writing course offered at the local community college. I'm very excited about the class and can't wait for it to start. Hopefully this course along with believing in myself, will put me on the right path to becoming an author.

Until next time,
Kim