Dead Dreams
When I was small I wanted to go into space. I wanted so hard it hurt. As I grew up I was one of the biggest space boosters around. I read science fiction mags like Galaxy and Analog. I read Heinlein, Asimov, Anderson and Pournelle. I joined the National Space Society. My wall was covered with space colony pics. I built space models. I collected books on space engineering. I designed a space habitat for the National Space socity's design contest. But that dream has more or less died. I went to the old World's fair ground in Queens NY and realized that the world I thought was coming has become nothing more than a rusting pile of junk. My dark thought for the day. Does anybody else find their original dreams slipping away as the get older? How do you modify the dreams and make new ones? Do we dare to dream big again?
The centerpiece of the '64 World's Fair
I think that the Atlas may actually be real. It has the fittings and engines on exterior. The Titan is a mockup.
People taking flight. Corroded by bird poop.
It's still possible but as we grow up we realize how cruel and cold the real world is. It's still possible though, just extremely difficult and most people can't be bothered with it.
Do I have to add that one of my favorite anime series is Planetes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DakRYsUIiIE
I can see why. it's still is the best Sci-Fi (realistic Scif-fi/hardcore) anime I've seen.
I think that by living life, you get the chance to make new dreams every day and with experience, you get better at figuring out which dreams are achievable and you can make those dreams come true. As you fulfill your dreams, you again get better and better at making dreams and the cycle leads to a better and happier life. I would never have dreamed in my 20's that I'd ever visit Japan because I'm scared to fly and yet I've gone 3 times and will visit again in April of this year and my life is better for these journeys.
True. To be honest Iv'e had experiences, worked with and met people, and done things that I would not trade for a ride to the space station. On the other hand I've also been to to many dead space sites and seen too much dead hardware. As for fear of flying, never work in the aerospace industry. You will either be scared spitless by the stuff you see and hear about or become numb to the potential for disaster. It's bad enough when you get on a plane and you don't what the failure points and maintainence cycles are. But when you do?
=P -yea, I hit a wall. it's called how college actually wants us to get students in and out in four to five years. And in the ruckus of it all, my dreams of what I wanted to be sorta failed and fell apart.
Even worse, after I graduate, now I need to compete to get a job since EVERYONE has a BS/BA in something. So ask myself, what the hell si the point trying to go into the work force in 22/23. No screw that. I am going to enjoy my life and when I hit 30, I will reconsider once again. So until then, I'll continue to do what I want, and learn what I want.
oh yea, not to mention the tuition of College is horrendous...
I plan on going on to college very soon, and your comment only confirms my dread. I find that living in general is very harsh especially in times like these. Many business and organizations are requiring some form of degree and even with a degree, it doesn't guarantee you job or an experience you thought or was told that it was going to be like. Money is always an issue and finding the help doesn't necessarily come when time becomes dire. I want to have a bright outlook on my future, but with every little step towards this "goal" i feel that the ground beneath me shifts and cracks giving me no stability and the roof over my head will not always be there to provide me a safe haven from the crashing of dreams, hopes, and desires because reality always hurts.
I too must admit that I was (and still am) a space guru. My dream as a kid was to work for NASA and fly into space. Heck, I was even determined that I was going to invent the first light speed drive! I'm currently a senior in college and my grades aren't necessarily the best (~2.7 GPA out of 4.0) which means that NASA (requiring 3.0+ for internships) is now too far out of my reach... no matter how hard I try in this final semester. Also, given the current state of things such as the cancellation of the NASA Constellation project or even the lacking of technology needed to achieve my goals, my original dreams as a child have been shattered. Moreover, it would now seem that people are losing interest in space altogether! This is especially evident now due to economic recession, wars, etc. What happened to mankinds spark to venture forth to the unknown? What happened to our drive? Our passion? Our sense of exploration!? It would seem that all hope has been lost for we spacenaughts. However, we as the next generation still have the ability to change this. If it weren't for previous generations' innovations through their constant determination to produce or discover something new, we would never have been able to reach space in the first place! As the next generation, we have the responsibility of being innovators ourselves. This means that we must build the reality that we desire because our predecessors were incapable of doing it for us. Thus for the sake of the future I will not give up on my dreams however broken they may be, because even broken dreams can be patched back together given the unwavering determination to succeed! Therefore, I urge you also to never give up on your dreams! Your passions! Desires! Or hope! For it is in those things you will find that the perception of a dream can be made a reality! The future awaits us and it is up to us to answer its call!
Your dream is the same with mine, too. Used to go gaga on everything about space and I'm still do. But, reality is harsh. Can't go there but my descendants will. Maybe.
That's why we are given the gift called Imagination. Propels us to go where no men (and women, too! :3 ) can't go and hope some of our dreams will inspire others to dream or to make it a reality.
I don't want to be all negative and stuff but I think it is very similar to one of the first few episodes of Zetsubou Sensei when he told his class that there's only despair in reality and his students should give up hope in highschool...
Here's where I'm stuck: I noticed that people similar to me usually graduate, get a job(if possible), then think life isn't so bad because now I can finance my hobbies. 5 to 10 years later, Gundams and figures and games collection grew by 3 to 4 times which is very nice. Start to think about all sorts of possible improvements in life. First start with a bigger tv, then better camera, maybe I should learn VBA or make a website.... But is that going to change life? By the way, I'm somewhere in the middle of the process thinking the tv and camera would be the solution to everything. Sometimes when I recall all the things I wanted to do when I was young but know it's impossible now, I just want to scream at empty space.