REACHING FOR THE STARS BY ILIA CORNIEA

One piece of advice my dad has consistently said to me since the day I was born is “If you don’t ask, the answer is no.”

In our society today, we put so much pressure on ourselves to gain approval from others. We may fear the disapproval from our peers, the judgement from society, and most of all, rejection. Rejection is what can hold us back from endless opportunities to achieve our visions and goals. However, ambition is what helps drive us to achieving our visions and goals. I challenge you to ask the questions that you are afraid of asking. The meaning of this quote, personally, is that we must live our lives being fearless of the unknown. If we don’t go out and push ourselves to achieve our goal, we will never be able to achieve it. As we’ve learned in ESP252 from Dr. Friedman, it is important to envision our goals and strive to achieve them each day. One small example of how I continue to be ambitious in my life is by consciously encouraging myself to think optimistically, and ignore the “what ifs” to opportunities that I am afraid of taking action on. We must be determined and ambitious towards achieving those goals that scare us, because as my dad would say “If you don’t ask, the answer is no.”