Dream Big

Building dreams sometimes takes, struggle and discipline. How much worse is the regret of never trying? It can be scary, but something inside us has to try. We want so much to find where we belong.

Setting up for the jump he went into the maneuver suspended in mid air momentarily coming down TJ landed the trick momentarily feeling the rush of victory. He came to a stop as soon as possible and gloated audibly to himself celebrating. Pumped and ready to go, confident TJ could take on the world now he set himself in motion again gliding on the asphalted road in front of his residence. Before this precise moment he had already given so much time to this board, blood sweat and tears. Practicing day after day. Learning to get back on when the pain of the last fall was still fresh.

 

TJ had quickly mastered lots of tricks and this last one had taken him a while to land. Skateboarding was TJ’s passion, and he was setting up for another trick, a new one. TJ moved to set up the jump, but oh no! He didn’t push off quite hard enough the board wobbled under him and he felt himself falling. TJ collided with the ground. Pain He heard his own yell of pain his shoulder burned. Saw his sister, Christan, running out of the house toward him phone to ear yelling. “Mom! The dork fell!” TJ moved some feeling nauseous with pain and watched her grow as she came too him. Looking him in the eye she said, “Nice going Dork…” TJ passed out.

 

TJ watched his mom but something was different. It was her when she was younger she was rollerblading with a smile on her face turning and gliding. Suddenly TJ saw himself come into the picture he was about three on his first skateboard close to his mom and his dad went by further away. His sister played with friends of in the distance on park equipment. Gliding on his board on shaky legs. All of a sudden TJ hit a small rock and down he went onto the pavement. TJ let out a cry his wound scrapped and hurting. Mom was right there! Next came dad. Seeing that TJ was ok they focused on calming him down. Hearing her brother cry, Christan had made her way over as well she said a little out of breath, “Is Tj ok?” “Yeah he just fell, he is tough,” Mom said. Holding TJ’s quivering chin she said, “You are doing great honey, you will be ok.” Christan asked, “Do you think he could actually be a real skateboarder?”  Mom replied enthusiastically with a smile, “You kids can be anything you set your mind to, you are smart kids, and don’t let anyone tell you different.” Tj nodded still sniffling. “Ok mom, Ill take TJ to wash off his cut. Come on TJ….TJ”  TJ opened his eyes groggily and bright light hurt his eyes. Christan held his hand. When he groaned and looked around, Christan said, “See, there the dorks awake.” She let go and walked to the window looking out. Tj looked at his mom as she moved hair out of his face. She said, “Honey what were you thinking? You need to be more careful.” TJ sat up wincing with pain. “What happened?” He asked. Kristan turned and filled him in, “You landed on your shoulder and passed out from shock.” “I hope it will heal quickly, what did the doctor say? I’ve got to get back to practicing.” TJ commented. “What! TJ you are in a hospital. Sweety don’t you think maybe its time you find a new hobby? You are way too serious about this.” Mom shook her head with a worried look. “Mom, scraps and injuries are part of the sport, its just paying my dues. You should be glad I’m so dedicated. I‘ve had spills before and I haven’t quit yet. I’m not getting this far just to quit.” “Honey I am just being realistic, do you know the odds of you achieving that goal? That’s before you factor in the risks. I just don’t want your dreams to get crushed.”  “Mom if I never try to begin with there is no dream to crush! I’m good, I’ve achieved 5 combinations in three months….When did you stop believing in me? You didn’t teach me to let fear run my life! I believe in myself now because you do or at least I thought you did!” TJ got off the bed and walked out, ignoring his mothers call  “TJ!”

 

TJ did not let this slow him down he trained to keep from loosing the ground he made doing what he could with his injury. It got better he was careful to do what the doctor said and it healed correctly and in no time he was back training at his normal level.

Three months later, Tj’s first competition back on his feet, he smashed the competition winning first place with a new, never before seen combination that wowed the crowd and Judges winning him his first sponsorship. In his acceptance speech he said, “I want to thank my Family for teaching me to have a faith in myself when no one else does, and for instilling good morals in me. Getting here was hard work and I never expected it to be easy. It took dedication on my part. So I also want to thank them for giving me a realistic outlook. To those that do or will look up to me, we only make it look easy, but if we are truly professionals at this sport I believe that is the point. There is great risk involved, but what dream that is worth it does not involve great risk? Thank You”. 

 

Author's Note

Do you have any suggestions that i could make this more realistic? Closer to real life. How can i make this resonate with teens more, maybe even specifically teen boys? Skate boarders? What do you think, would you read a larger story about this? Does it pique your interest?