Anthony Rios shows us how to take charge of our own dreams.
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A Dream Comes a Long Way
by Anthony Rios
I think of myself as a dreamer.
It started when I was in fifth grade.
I had no one to lean on. Every day I was picked on because I was fat. Kids called me Jelly Roll Toe, Fatty, and Ect. I wore the same clothes for weeks because I didn’t have a lot. I was roaming the street with my friends, hopeless with no one to turn to.
But every night I dreamed that I would become somebody.
Every day was a battle because I didn’t know where I was headed.
I lay in bed and dreamed of a better life. I always questioned myself.
“Is this life really for me?”
“Is there another way out of the ‘hood?”
I dreamed of having a father who would teach me how to grow as a man; how to shave; how to write and how to earn respect.
I woke.
It was all a dream. I knew it wasn’t true. I wish it was true.
Now I know only I can carve out my own future. I need to stay on the straight and narrow road. Even though I may stumble and fall occasionally.
It is not in my blood to give up. All my dreams will come true if I do something about them. I will learn to become a man on my own.
All those years I felt empty, like something was missing.
But I found writing.
Writing’s helped keep me on track. Writing’s helped me understand that my past can’t hurt me anymore.
A dream made me come a long way from my past to this present moment.
POPS is a high school club that welcomes all those whose lives have been touched by prison. We offer a space where members are encouraged to write, talk and paint their truths. At POPS we thrive on seeing the world as it is while imagining it as it could be. We are creating hope by tackling shame and fear. We are building a community based on dignity and openness.
