Dreamer: I Am the Creator,

¶ … dreamer: I am the creator, the mastermind, the executer, and the witness to the realization of my dreams. I have many varied and diverse dreams. I desire to wander and explore the earth by a hot air balloon. I long for a pet penguin. I yearn to play cello as Yo-Yo Ma does. I am determined to change the world and the lives of everyone I meet. I have the dream to discover the unknown and trigger a breakthrough in the history of humankind. Dreams are fragile by nature. They have to be protected, nourished, and guided in order to grow. The personal experiences that shape and individuals life also shape their dreams; these experiences arise out of family moments and interactions thus family is a critical facet of dream creation and fulfillment.

One a sunny day in Santa Barbara, it was an ordinary day, except for one house. My mother started to feel pain in her stomach and I was getting ready to come out to the world with fullness of dreams. Hidden within my mind and heart were dreams that while unarticulated were very real. However, entrance into the world brought a new reality that I was immediately required to respond to. These experiences created pain and a sense of separation that remained submerged within my psyche for a long while.

As soon as I was born, I had to be separated from my parents and stayed in incubator which is little bigger than a small box. The doctors who attended to me were strange and this produced anxious moments. In addition, I was diagnosed with jaundice and suffered a series of horrible side effects from penicillin, which was administered to me. A huge machine controlled many of my body functions and the incubator kept me from the comforting arms of my parents. There was a daily ritual of pain and suffering that interrupted the events of my life with annoying frequency. Every morning, the doctor drew blood from my heel for a test and tubes went in and out of me.

This experience was repeated throughout my life as I had repeated illnesses some of which may be linked to the activities surrounding my birth and subsequent care in the hospital. I was hospitalized throughout kindergarten, and limited to a bed for long a period. I was too weak to do anything. The life of a normal child was not mine; all I had were my dreams to comfort me and give me a sense of hope. Where other children could go outside and play, I could not. Dreams became a necessary escape and provided me with the freedom that was not permitted because of my physical condition.