Just recently, I performed my first-ever spoken word. I thought it would be fun to post it on the blog.

Without further ado, here’s: A Dream Deferred.

I spent all night building a microwave out of a cardboard box and handed it to my mom. There was nothing she could do with it. Some would say it was useless, but she saw value in that box because she knew how hard I worked on it.

As time went on, my passions became more useful. I drew photos until my hands got tired and made figurines out of clay. The workings of my hands were gold, and I knew it. I could see the potential in myself even if no one else could.

I was living in color. Blues, greens, purples, yellows. You name it. I could see it. My imagination took me places. I was a novelist, artist, designer. Anything was possible because there were no limitations.

I knew I was something great, and nothing anyone said would change that. In the innocence of my youth, I had the most strength, faith and hope I had ever had. I couldn’t wait to grow up and live out my dreams.

But like leaves falling off a tree for winter, I was stripped of my innocence. With maturity came doubt and fear. No longer was I sure. I had doubts, and those doubts left me wondering if I was good enough for much of anything. Now, my success was measured by how other people saw me instead of how I viewed myself.

I put my dreams into a box and traded them for practically. I needed to work to pay bills. Dreams didn’t matter anymore. Besides, no one cared. Or at least, that’s how I felt. But one day, I opened that box of dreams. And out they came, spilling over. They made me feel like a kid again. And that’s where the light ball switched back on. I knew I had to follow my dreams because they were such a huge part of my identity. God put the passions inside me, and even if they never took me as far in this world as I would’ve liked, I knew I had to chase after them.

And that is where I am now. I’m dreaming just like I was when I was little. I have no limitations, and no one can convince me that I’m not good enough. I know that I am because God, the creator of this great big universe, says I am. And that’s all I need to keep dreaming.

-Jas