Most people don’t know that they can use their access to many opportunities around them to make their dreams of becoming successful, a reality. The people who make it to the top, do so, because they have moved beyond just having access, to actually using the resources around them to achieve their success. There are many opportunities available to access our dreams. These include education, scholarships, volunteering, grants, community organisations, sports, to name a few. In this essay, I will examine three of the main ways we can use opportunities to move beyond access, and empower our communities to use available resources to achieve success.
One of the most guaranteed ways of achieving success is getting an education. Education can take children from just access to opportunities, to actually using these opportunities to fulfill their dreams. Educated children will choose education, instead of choosing the road seemingly paved by “bling”, to become successful. According to Levitt and Dubner, the media misleads the public into thinking that everyone involved in drugs is very successful,
“The media eagerly glommed on to this story, portraying crack dealing as one of the most profitable jobs in America. But if you were to have spent a little time around the housing projects… not only did most of the crack dealers still live in the projects, but most of them still lived at home with their moms.”
Here, Levitt and Dubner show how many people have been deceived by the media. People who are educated however, will look beyond the “bling” to see the truth and will be able to make the right decisions.
Another way to produce successful citizens is to empower our children. Children who have supportive, influential people in their communities, who expose them to better opportunities, will learn how to move beyond just having access to opportunity, to daring to take the steps necessary to claim the success as their own. Glover Blackwell stated that because of the supportive people around her she was shielded from the negative influences in her environment,
“Yet as a child, I was surrounded by a web of caring adults who were determined to raise bold, proud, intellectually curious children, shielded from the sting of discrimination” .
Therefore as Glover Blackwell points out, by daring to support our children, and instilling in them positive attitudes, we will be able to groom successful citizens regardless of the environment that they grew up in.
Another way to achieve success is by teaching our people to learn from adversities and move on. An anonymous author quoted by Vanzant said,
“I am thankful for the adversities which have crossed my path and taught me tolerance, perseverance, self control and some other virtues I might never have known”.
Vanzant uses this quote to remind us to use our experiences to guide us into using the resources around us to achieve success. We should dare to keep our dreams alive, learn from our mistakes and confidently choose a new path to success.
In conclusion, we can strive to educate our communities so each person can be self-empowered to make the right decisions. We can pave the way for the future by providing a supportive environment for all our children. Finally, we can learn from our mistakes, our past, and use that knowledge to build a better future. By doing all of this, we can dare to confidently move beyond just having access, to making our dreams a success.
Works Cited
Annonymous Quote. “June 8”. Acts of Faith, Daily Meditations For People Of Color. Iyanla Vanzant. New York: Fireside, 1993.
Glover Blackwell, Angela. “Ensuring Broad Access To Affordable Neighborhoods That Connect To Opportunity.” The Covenant. Tavis Smiley. Chicago: Third World Press, 2006. 99.
Levitt, Stephen D. and Dubner, Stephen J. “Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live With Their Moms?”. Freakonomics. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2005. 93.
