Why not? by Mikella

Why not? by Mikella - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

In life there are those who life as if there is only one way things have or ever will be, and they live this monotonous existence their entire lives. In my eyes the world is made up of stories. Words tumble playfully in the wind and worlds are created and scrapped on the drawing table or in the whispers of children.

The first time a quote really struck me was Christmas day; I received a collection of inspiring quotes from my grandmother. I randomly flipped the pages and a quote from George Bernard Shaw popped out: “You see things; and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?'” This quote struck me to the core, I had thought that I was alone in my thoughts, silently observing the stories and impossibilities that life presents.

I began collecting quotes and my eyes were opened to the creativity of life and the seemingly blatant idea that everyone saw the world differently. In youth you believe that everyone is the same as you. If you were raised in the country and then moved to the city, you believe that is how it is for everyone, but as you grow older you realize the world is far too vast and too small at the same time for such similarities. The universe is far too lazy for coincidences. Some may see the world as things that can be used to build, and things that cannot: these we call engineers. Others may see things in the mathematical and logical, the world for them is a series of problems to be solved, these we call planners. For others the world is a stage, either for theater or a way to mask their true emotions: these are the actors. The engineers must dream the impossible and work to build it, planners must work with the impossible and set feasible goals to conquer the impossible; the actors are like a piano and strike new and unique chords to create a character and act accordingly to portray the story. I must dream the impossible and make it tangible, feasible, and believable.

The quote “You see things; and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?'” makes the brain tease and expand, searching for our past dreams, and what one could make possible. My writer's mind breaks through writer's block by use of this quote, as the greatest search engine in the world- the human brain- leaps to action. This quote has influenced me to be a better writer, to get out of my comfort zone and dare the things “that never were,” to make dreams a reality and to transport readers into the worlds I created. I build, I manage, and I create, thanks to this quote.