Growing and MIND & Up BODY
MIND + BODY
Following Your Path story by Litzy Rodriquez & Lily Beck | photos by Emma Frost design & illustrations by Lizeth Valdes As you sit in your two-hour lecture for the third time this week, do you ever revisit that childhood dream of being the next massive pop star? If you had just auditioned for “America’s Got Talent” when you were 14, Simon Cowell would have pushed the golden buzzer, and you wouldn’t be waking up at 7:30 a.m. to make it just in time for your 8 a.m. class. Even with the strongest ambition and wildest imagination, the real-world may come to kick you in the face, setting you in a cycle of questioning where you are
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in life. This feeling of uncertainty about the future can put you at a standstill. To normalize feeling uncertain and adapting to your path as you grow, PULSE spoke to CWU students to reflect on their academic journey. Growing up, everyone has at least one idea of what they want for themselves in the future. Amaya Belden-Reeves, an education major at CWU, speaks on her own childhood dream. “Something that I watched was ‘American Idol,’ so I grew up and I wanted to be a singer,” Belden-Reeves says.
Jessica Perrine, a graphic design major, had the same idea. “When I was younger, I also wanted to be a singer,” Perrine says. “Taylor Swift was in her country era and I was really into that.” Everyone has dreams growing up. Whether it be like Perrine and BeldenReeves who wanted to be the next big performers, or something along the lines of an education-based career. The only difference between young dreams and the reality of being a grown-up is the expectations that we face while going through life.