7:59 AM / A Dreamer’s Curse

We are all dreamers. Life’s invisible, magnetic forces tugging us in the direction where we are meant to be. Every person, the moment they were born, bore an inner compass lodging beneath their ribs. As a person navigates their journey through life, their compass needles point to the direction they were destined to go to. Some are pulled toward the intricacies of the human body — the healers. Some paint the pavements where they dance toward their destination — the artists. Some witness the injustices of life and vow to be the defenders of the helpless — the warriors.

But me? I can only long to be one of those who decisively march towards the direction of their compasses — not because mine doesn’t work but because unlike those whose compass needles firmly points to a path of certainty, mine quivers restlessly to all directions like a bird trying to escape its cage.

While everyone was applauded for reaching for the stars, people like me who wander around the constellations are deemed lost.

Or at least, that’s what society had led us to believe. When people ask me what I want to do with my life, my eyes glimmer with the mystery of the unknown, the same way a child marvels at the moon following her steps. My wonder, however, was met with a pat on the head and sympathetic gazes that seemed to say, “You can’t be everything you want to be. You have to grow up and choose.”

Those words were etched in my heart. For a long time, I steadied my gaze on a single path, careful not to drift away from my trail. As I step forward, I can feel my soul wilting away – drenched in tears from my buried dreams and ashen hopes. 

But as I navigate the deeper intricacies of existence, I realized that life is boundless. We make our own prison that holds our potential captive. Choosing a path doesn’t mean that you cannot deviate to another lane. It does not mean that you are lost. It only means that you are an explorer fulfilling your duties as a traveler passing through the multiverse of life. You are allowed to steer your sail wherever your compass pulls you. 

Today, most of us are tied to the ticking of clocks and an endless list of grown-up duties – we work for a living or study for our future — that leaves not enough space to pursue other paths. But I hope that as we grow older, we do not abandon the many dreams implanted within our hearts when we were little – back when everything still felt possible.

Now, here we are at 7:59 AM – one minute before we step out into the masquerade where everyone expects you to be someone and become something. In this fragile moment, may you remember that you are not only a painting in an art gallery — you are an entire museum of everything that you have ever loved and ever dreamed of.