NEWS FEED

Column: I plan ‘to tread my dreams’

Written by Catherine Swift, Editor-in-Chief

Let us keep the dance of rain our fathers kept and tread our dreams beneath the jungle sky.”

This quote is written on my wall above my window. It is by African-American poet Arna Bontemps, and I wrote it just before I began ninth grade. I was attracted to it because of its beautiful imagery, because of its feeling of wildness and freedom. These last few weeks of high school have made me realize that it means a lot more to me than that.

I’m pretty sure it was written in part to encourage those with African heritage to remember and honor their history, but despite my complete lack of African lineage, I find an invocation in it as well.

It reminds me to hold on tight to that part of me that is free, that desires grandeur and awe. It reminds me of my love of nature and its powerful beauty. Its most poignant message to me at this time, however, is its call to bravely go out and “tread my dreams.”

At 4:30 a.m. on the Sunday after graduation, I’m going to do just that, and to be honest about it, I’m really quite scared. I’m boarding a plane by myself and going out to Wyoming for a 30-day backpacking course with the National Outdoor Leadership School. I’ll have no contact with anyone I know, I’ll be spending every moment with a group of complete strangers, and I’ll be pushed harder physically and mentally than ever before in my life. For about two weeks now I’ve been freaking out about it all.

Last night, however, I looked up at that quote, and I realized I’ve been using my energy in completely the wrong way.

I have this incredible, unbelievable opportunity to do something I’ve always wanted to do. This sort of adventure is one of my dreams, and Bontemps’ words reminded me  that just because it’s scary, doesn’t mean it isn’t wonderful. There’s nothing safe or small about a “jungle sky,” but there’s so  much beauty there.

The end of a school year is the beginning of new adventures for all of us. Some of us are going to work, some to camp, others to vacations or college or even the military. It’s so exhilirating to be at this point, to have our passion and freedom and hunger for experience.

I hope it never goes away. I hope that we can hold on to our wildness and our dreams past high school, past our first or second or third jobs, past our mid-life crises and retirements and grandchildren’s high school years.

It will be scary. The future really is an endless sky. We’ve all got our own sorts of sacred rain-dances that will guide us through.