The Do's and the Donut's

 What place does a dream/vision have in one's life/relationships? 

As a part-time angsty teenager, I myself am all too familiar with the pondering of existence and the “meaning of life” as I lie awake in the dark at 2 A.M. on a school night.

“Would I be more successful in my journey if I had more motivation?”

“Would I be more dedicated to the journey if I had a set destination?”

I wish I could say that I’ve got it all figured out, but then what fun would that be? However, I have learned that dreams are powerful, but success is dangerous.

Humans tend to work off of the reward system: if we work hard now, we will be rewarded with economic stability/emotional equilibrium/toys from Santa/etc. So it is the incentive that there is a light at the end of the tunnel that keeps us motivated. Those who know exactly what their light looks like are at an advantage. Their vision of success is no longer an abstract concept, but instead a scenario. Gatsby, with the vision of a life with the wealthy and highly demanded Daisy, is able to build himself up from an irrelevant soldier boy to, eventually, the talk of New York.

However, a touch of success is where it becomes dangerous. Success to us is similar to power. A taste of it is enough to throw one off the edge. Eventually, even those that once upon a time had a vision could end up chasing something that will always be an arm’s length away. How one can find success and not fall into its trap is something I’ll save for another night to ponder about.