A Dream Deferred

"What happens to a dream deferred?"

I've been thinking a lot about the answer to that question and realized Martin Luther King, Jr did the same, so how fitting it is to read about the impact this question had on him during the celebration of his life. The question comes from Langston Hughes' poem named "Harlem," written after the Harlem renaissance of the 1920s and just before the Civil Rights Movement was gaining traction.

My goal for 2023 centers on getting out of the financial shackles of debt and finding my niche in my career. This led me to Reddit threads of the financial independence retire early (FIRE) movement that usually finds a person to staying in a stressful, joyless position because their high pay will help them enter into retirement before they're 40 years old. I read these threads to find practical ways to save and curb my spending.

However, this FIRE movement has been so surreal to me. Why spend 10-15 years hating a job or industry? Why not find something you love so you're not dying to jump into retirement as though it was a cold shower you need to wash the stench of stress and unfulfilled dreams from?

When I was younger, I dreamt of becoming a well-known cartoonist like Charles Schulz. I looked at going to his college in California to follow in his footsteps. With animation turning to computers, I'm glad that dream didn't come true. But I didn't stop dreaming.

I understand that it's a privilege to be away to walk away from a job one despises. To be able to hand in your resignation when your values no longer align with the company's. But I dream that work culture will evolve to make people more passionate about what they do instead of sluggishly put on the suit and makeup while counting the days to retirement.

And the answer may not be to find a company that brings out the passion in one's work. It may be starting a project or business or empire that makes one thrilled to get up everyday.

However a dream is lived, I want it to see it explode in energy and excitement, to bring fire to the lives of the individual and the community that dream serves. The alternative would be to defer a dream, hoping it'll be worth it in order to retire early to then make that dream come true. But as King has shown, a dream may not come true in one's lifetime.