The other day, I found myself staring off into space. Yes, instead of actively working on that important, upcoming AP Literature essay, I was vacantly looking at the white, blank wall above me. I don’t even remember what I was thinking about during those wasted 30 minutes. Perhaps I was daydreaming about food? I can’t recall.

What I do remember is the minute after, the minute right after I snapped out it. I turned my head to the right and saw the dreamcatcher hanging off my bedpost. Keep in mind, this particular dreamcatcher has been in that same spot for years now. Really, its presence shouldn’t have been so new and astounding to me. Yet, that’s the exact same effect it had on me. I was surprisingly surprised by the blue, feathered dreamcatcher.

For many, a dreamcatcher is simply a dreamcatcher. It’s a little hand-woven object, supposedly used to filter out the nightmares and only allow good dreams to enter the mind of the sleeper. However, in that moment, the dreamcatcher meant something much more than just some superstitious charm.

It made me recognize something about life; I would even go so far to say, a vital truth in living. There is not just one, singular pathway to reach the center of the dreamcatcher, to reach success, to achieve a goal, a career, a dream. With college decisions out and about, I realize that not getting accepted into my target college will not prevent me from chasing after my dreams. No, I’ll just simply work around that and find another route to get where I want to be.

Adieu,

Michelle Bau