What it means by "DREAM BIG"

It's been months since I became Pengajar Muda in Gerakan Indonesia Mengajar. I have seen a lot and learn no less than that. Being a teacher, I always tell my students to Dream Big, and to put their dream as high as the sky or even higher. I always tell them to fill the empty blue sky with their rainbow of dreams which in the future will elevate the prosperity of the nation. But, in the end, they always come up with a big question mark.

What is the meaning of DREAM BIG?

You may come up with a very cliche answer, like dream big is to dream something very big, like becoming a president or any cool job you can ever imagine. Yeah, most of us might answer that. But, I ask them back when they answer like that, "What would you do when you already reach your dream?" They might end up in silent, not knowing what to answer. We can dream of becoming a president, then what would we do when we already become a president? We can dream of becoming a minister or professor, then what? That's the end of it? Then, we're not dreaming big.

Dreaming big is not about how big the job/profession that you dream of, it is about how big the thing that you do as that profession.

You might think that being a farmer is a very small dream. Yeah, everybody could dream that. But, it's the same as being a president, easy to dream. Then how about being a farmer that has thousand hectares of land and employs thousands of workers, participating in eradicating unemployment. Small? Not at all. It is a big dream rather than a small nothing dream like becoming a president. If you want to become a president, then explain what would you do once you reach that place. And the things that you will do must big and influencing to other people. Never dream of something which could only beneficial to yourself. That is what I mean by "Dream Big".

I let them write all of their big dreams and surprisingly I saw some extraordinarily big dreams.

I want to become a president who bring this country to prosperity. I want to become a teacher who makes my students go into college. I want to become a minister who combat poverty. I want to become a mechanics who invent the fastest car in the world. And many more.

These are the big dreams of the small kids. So, why can't we dream more than them. We, adults, shouldn't be stopped on what profession we would like to have after this. Start thinking what are we gonna do and dream big! This world is the manifestation of the dreams of the people from the past. Let us shape this world with our big dreams which create a better world for every one.

Dream Big,

Wirapati