Warrican: Avoid dreamkillers!

If you dare to dream and want to soar like an eagle, you must be willing to chart the path and follow it, regardless of your circumstances. However, in pursuing your dreams, make sure you do not deprive others of theirs.{{more}}

This was the advice given to students by Director of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College (SVGCC) Dr. Joel Warrican, on Sunday, September 12.

Warrican, who was the guest speaker at a back to school programme at the St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Calliaqua, based his address on the book of Isaiah 40: 30-31. Describing the words of those verses as “very powerful”, he encouraged the students to think about their meaning and reflect on how the words could inspire them to go through the rest of their academic life.

Using the example of the eagle, which he said, takes a bad situation, and uses it to its advantage, Warrican encouraged students not to run for cover when faced with conditions that seem unfavourable.

He also warned against letting fear keep them back. “Fear of the unknown can prevent you from charting a path and following it. …Dare to dream, but dare to pursue those dreams.”

Warrican used the examples of cricketer Brian Lara and superstar Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty to encourage the students to work hard and not let adversity keep them down.

Both Lara and Rihanna came from humble beginnings, but were able to achieve world acclaim through hard work and using adversity to their advantage.

Warrican, who holds a PhD in Education (Language and Literacy) from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, advised that in pursuance of their dreams, students should do research to find out what it takes to achieve their goal, then set realistic short term goals, all leading to the ultimate objective.

He urged the students to surround themselves with positive people, and to avoid dream killers. Dream killers, he said, are people, who by their words or actions, inhibit persons from pursuing their dreams.

Unfortunately he said, dream killers sometimes include parents, who because they love you and want to protect you from hurt, recommend you take the safe option and not aim too high. He also cited teachers among the main dream killers.

The worse dream killer, however, is society, Warrican opined. He said sometimes, depending on who your parents are, which village you are from, what your parents do for a living, or what school you attend, society places certain expectations on you.

“If you have a dream, you should seek ways around these obstacles,” he advised. “Do not let family barriers deter you from dreaming, and from taking steps to pursue your dreams.”

“If you are going to soar, then these dream killers must not be allowed to prevail. …The only real limit to what you can do is your own imagination. Do not let society use your current circumstances against you,” he advised.

The Director, who is on secondment at the SVGCC from the University of the West Indies School of Education (Cave Hill Campus), however warned against becoming self-centred, uncaring and egotistical while pursuing one’s dreams.

“Do not let pursuing your dreams cost you your humanity. Achieving your dreams by depriving others of all of theirs, will leave you in a very lonely place with no one with whom you can celebrate your success,” he said.

“Do not become someone else’s dream killer.” Rather, he said, the students should seek help from those around them and rely on God for strength to weather adversity.