I sang “They All Laughed”. They all laughed at Christopher Columbus when he said the world was round. They all laughed when Edison recorded sound. They all laughed at Wilbur and his brother, when they said that man could fly. They told Marconi wireless was a phony, it is the same old cry. They laughed at me wanting you, said I was reaching for the moon, but oh you came through. Now they will have to change their tune... I know it was not Columbus, and that it is a love song, but it applies to dreams also and all the negative things people and my own mind tell me.
The other night I saw a documentary about a woman who set sail across the Pacific with her fiancé to deliver a boat to Hawaii. It was hurricane season but they crossed their fingers and did it anyway – for $10,000. Within days a big storm started building in their path. They could have turned back but chose not to. Then it was too late and they hit the eye of the hurricane. He sent her below decks.
She was knocked out. When she came to, the storm was over but the boat was a wreck. In shock, badly bruised and cut, she stumbled up on deck. He was gone. She was in the middle of the Pacific with barely enough food and water. The sails were shredded; radio and engine were broken.
During the next twenty-two days she rigged a small sail and navigated towards Hawaii using a sextant, knowing if she missed she would run out of food and water. Once, a ship sailed by. She sent up flares, danced on deck, screaming “hey! Hey, stop!!” The ship sailed on by. Terrorized, grieving, totally alone, she nearly lost her mind.
One day, after a month, she spied land in the distance! A plane flew over, so close she could see the pilot. She sent up a flare, screamed and shouted. He did not see her. Clouds descended, and hid the land. She thought she had gone mad and was hallucinating. She went and got a rifle, put it into her mouth, tasting the metal.
But she could not do it. The clouds cleared again, and there was Hawaii. The darkest hour is just before dawn. My demons will tell me there is no hope. They seem very logical and believable. People might even tell me the same thing. I do not have to listen to them or give up. I cannot see what is round the corner, and nor can they. I have to say to myself, you are important, believe in yourself. How else can my dreams come true?
Jennifer is pursuing a childhood dream to become a singer. She also writes a blog, film and TV scripts, and novels. She experienced bankruptcy 8 years ago which changed her life dramatically – for the better! Visit her blog Stepping out of History to read about her journey of getting to a place where she could start to make her dreams come true.
