“Dream”
By Mariah Wilson
Age 11 – 5th grade
Madison Middle School

“All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother,” said Abraham Lincoln. I have many dreams – to become an athlete, actress, artist, coach, and author, to name a few. But there is one dream of mine that combines all of them – a mother! As a mom, I can play sports with my family (and beat them!), take my family swimming, put on plays, create art, and exercise. I’d still have a side-job, like an author, coach, or actress. When I become a mother, I will get to do what I love. I know being a mother will not be easy, and I’m glad! Nothing good ever comes out of lounging around. I love to work hard, and that’s just another reason that my dream is to be a mother.

“Don’t follow your dreams, chase them…” (Kunal Patel). I will achieve my dream by practicing. For example, I can begin now by babysitting my five younger siblings and my neighbors – and real babysitting, not just texting or watching TV, but actually doing things with the kids, like playing games, putting on skits, telling jokes, and creating art.

I’m not going to wake up one day as a new mother and suddenly know how to run a household! I can learn to cook and practice making meals for my family. When I diligently do my chores I’m preparing to be a mom. As Ann Landers said, “It’s not what you do for your children but what you teach them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings.” I can ask my parents and older siblings for advice on things like finances. For example, I can learn to save my money instead of buying the first thing I set my eyes on. If I want to be the best mom ever, I have to make it happen!

My education plays a huge role in achieving my dream. In high school and college I can take classes specifically tailored to motherhood, like home economics. In the marriage and parenting class, students take an electronic “baby” home and practice caring for it by feeding it, rocking it, and changing its diapers (I know – gross).

How do I chauffeur without taking driver’s ed? How do I fix a boo-boo if I don’t know first-aid? How do I stay out of debt if I can’t do math? How do I use the stove if I can’t read the owner’s manual? The answer is simple. I C-A-N-T can’t! I need to do well in driver’s ed, health, math, reading, and other classes to achieve my dream of being an awesome mom.

Is education all about learning information? N-O no way! I had a wonderful fourth grade teacher who believed in learning life lessons in her classroom. She talked to us about a book, How Children Succeed, by Paul Tough. He described seven character traits: grit, curiosity, self control, social intelligence, zest, optimism, and gratitude. Throughout the year, we discussed these traits and how they apply to our lives. When I become a mom, I’ll need to have all of these traits, especially grit. Moms don’t need an education? NONSENSE! They most definitely do.

“A father works from sun to sun, but a mother’s work is never done.” This is so true. My dream is a work in progress. My mother has several children, including one married college student and one “coming soon” to our family. After all of us have grown up, she’ll be a grandmother. She will mother me and my family our whole lives. Once I have my first child, I’ll officially be a mother, but I definitely will not stop there. As my kids grow up, I can teach my daughters how to be mothers, and then I’ll mother my grandkids. See? Because then I’ll get to be a mother for the rest of my life. After I achieve my goal, I’ll get to continue living my dream forever, and that is all I could ask for!

Being a mother won’t be easy, but it will happen. I will chase my dream, wherever it takes me. “The prosperity of nations depends on dedicated mothers teaching skills and exemplifying values to their children,” – my mom told me that (smart lady!). I can’t wait to be a mother and change the world. As William Rose Wallace stated, “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.” I WILL be a mother! That is my dream.