(Work)day dreaming

I spend a lot of time thinking about how I have no idea what I want to do with my life.

It’s a daunting task – deciding at 20 years old how you want to spend the rest of your life. As I’ve grown, I’ve made a lot of revisions to my original plan, which was to be a writer. The older I get, the more unrealistic it seems. And, really, I think I traded my dream for a practical reality of how I want to spend my adult life.

But, in an effort to reintegrate writing back into my goals, I decided to get my minor in Journalism, which required me to sacrifice my entire summer to take classes. No beach vacations. No sleeping in. Sometimes that’s what it takes…I know. But, it was still a reluctant decision.

And then I met Chansitha Ouk, a 49-year-old student in my Intro to News Reporting class.

Upon introducing myself and asking her a few questions, she said something that struck me.

“My dream is to be an advocate for higher education,” she said.

I paused for a moment upon hearing this, and then took a moment to think about why I found this statement unusual. A woman, whose story I didn’t yet know, told me that she was 49 and still dreaming. Until that moment, I did not realize that I believed that dreaming had an age limit. Where did I get that from?

Chansitha was born in Cambodia during a civil war. She spent her early years on the run, fighting for her life. One day in a Thai refugee camp, she discovered education. She took her first class when she was 12 years old. That’s when she began dreaming.

And she never stopped.

After reaching the top of her class in her refugee camp in Thailand, she completed high school and, at the same time, became an interpreter for a UN worker. She passed her English course, allowing her to move to the United States. Once in the US, she began taking classes at a community college to further her English language ability.

She remained at Gavilan Community College for ten years before applying to a four-year university. She was reluctant to apply to UC Berkeley and, once she did, she felt shy about sharing that she did with others. But, when she got in, she called it an “inspiring dream.”

Chansitha’s hunger for knowledge propelled her through the next two years. This past spring, she graduated with a B.A. in Media Studies and a minor in Journalism, which she is completing this summer with me. This is where her story, my story, and the story of all college women with dreams collide.

When did we decide that dreaming was less important than practicality? Who told us that we aren’t allowed to have epic goals?

I’ve spent too much time setting my passion for writing aside, and Chansitha has reminded me to stop sidelining my heart’s desires. I have never met a woman with such courage and determination, or with such fierce willpower and relentless positivity. Her persistent belief in herself and her goals has motivated me to follow in her steps, and I could not be more grateful.

Chansitha wants young people to know the importance of education and higher education, and she will never stop fighting to spread that message.

“Money can get you from A to B, but education has benefits beyond imagination,” she once told me.

She’s still dreaming at 49? Then I’m still dreaming at 20.

How about you?

By Bella Townsend

UC Berkeley student, poetry enthusiast and firm believer in Taco Tuesday