By Tunde Oseni, PhD
‘The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams’. So goes an anonymous saying. We all need dreams. Not just because dreams come true but also because a life without dreams is an empty life. Dreams in this context are not what we see when we are fast asleep but rather what we passionately think about and enthusiastically imagine becoming realities in the nearest possible future. Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India, said: ‘The dream is not what you see in sleep; dream is which does not let you sleep’. That’s a food for thought indeed. Dreams are therefore the stuff of which success is made of. The good news is that dreams that we hold dear can come true if we tap into the power of big dreams. Dreams come true.
I know that dreams come true because I once dreamt that I would get education at the premier university in Nigeria: the University of Ibadan, and I did; dreams come true. I once dreamt that I would like to make a first class honours degree, and I did; dreams come true. I once dreamt that I would do my postgraduate studies at the first university in the United Kingdom and one of the oldest and the best in the world: the University of Oxford, and I did; dreams come true. While at Oxford, I did dream that I would do my doctorate in a top-rated university in the UK: the University of Exeter, and I did; dreams come true. I not only researched at Exeter, but also taught students from all parts of the world. Wow! Dreams indeed come true. It may interest you to know that I was not born with the proverbial silver spoon, but I was, metaphorically speaking, born with a spoon, the spoon of pursuit of excellence, the spoon of courage, the spoon of hope.
As I grew up in life, I faced a mountain of challenges but I climbed it and I discovered that on the other side of the mountain of challenges is the island of success. It may interest you to know that the Creator has deposited in each and every one of us the kind of talent that will make us make it in life. If not, why me, and of course, why not me; why and how will it be possible for someone who was once a struggling community journalist in South Western Nigeria to become a successful University Teaching Assistant in South Western England. If I can rise thus far intellectually and socially, you too can rise up. And even if you have reached the top, you can as well go higher! You only need to continue to take the regular doses of the vitamins that bring forth success in life!
