Follow Your Dreams Wherever They Find You

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Follow Your Dreams Wherever They Find You

• There are several ways by which we can dream
• There are dreams that come to us while we sleep
  and are part of our subconscious mind
• There are dreams that we have while we are awake
  and these are part of our conscious mind
• Today I would like to focus on the second type of
  dreams, which can be linked to our aspirations

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Dreams From Our Conscious Mind

• We have several types
• Those that are based on our reality
• Those that are based on our fantasies
• Those that are caught between reality and
  fantasies
• I would like to narrow my focus to those dreams
  based on our realities

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What is Your Reality?

• Most of the students here today are between ages
  13-15 year old
• You are about to graduate and move on to high
  school
• You have spent the last school year here at
  Memorial School
• This year found you in a nurturing environment,
  fostered by your teachers, staff and parents here
  at Memorial School

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My Brief Observations

• This is only my third visit to Memorial school
• Your recent Science Fair was excellent I was
  able to observed that your brains are indeed
  being stimulated here at this school
• You were stimulate to ask questions, to attempt
  to investigate and collect data, to draw
  conclusions and in this process you might have
  produced answers

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How Do Memorial Graduates Find Their Dreams?

• I encourage you to let this method of asking
  questions and then being guided by your teachers,
  parents and the experiences of others to answer
  them, become part of your life
• Never be afraid to ask questions
• The fulfillment of your dreams will depend on the
  questions you ask and the answers you find to
  them

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Questions That You Need to Ask!

• How will I use what I have learnt here at
  Memorial School to reach my future dreams?
• What should be my dreams and aspirations?
• Where will I look and how will I know my dreams
  once I have found them?
• What path will I take to make my dreams a part of
  my reality?

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Tools To Help You Find Your Dreams

• I encourage you to let those dreams and
  aspirations be grounded in your intellectual
  abilities
• Learn as much as you can about the things that
  interest you
• This learning can be done using all or any of
  todays media and technology including books,
  news print, magazines, the internet and even TV
  and movies
• Let you teachers be part of the inspiration for
  your dreams

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The Biggest Pit Fall To Avoid

• You must never dropout of high school no matter
  what
• Dont become part of the negative 30 that
  dropout of high school.
• The Time magazine April 17, 2006

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My Personal Story

• Began at 10 years old in the island of Barbados,
  where I was born
• I was inspired by a team of visiting Peace Corps
  teachers
• My school had no science lab nor library
• These teacher brought beautifully illustrated
  book and lab equipment that they apparently made
  themselves
• I was intrigued and hooked on science from that
  school year

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A Brief Summary of My Journey To Fulfill My
Dreams

• I had no clue how I would get to be a scientist
  or what scientist actually did for a living
• I first made as many piece of the equipment that
  the Peace Corps teachers showed us
• I read constantly and learnt from books borrowed
  from a mobile library that came to my village
  once per month
• Friends thought that I was nerdy but I was very
  athletic I ran track, played cricket, volley
  ball, soccer and tennis

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My Journey continued

• Overall I did well in school but did not always
  get As
• I came to the United States at age 21 to attend
  college, rejoining my 4 brothers, 3 sisters and
  my parents
• Again it was a microbiology professor who
  inspired me to pursue graduate studies in
  biochemistry
• I was encourage and supported by most of my
  family all along the way

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Conclusion

• I encourage each of you to dream of a future that
  can be achieved through your intellectual
  abilities and in our country which has the
  greatest access to education in the world
• I encourage you to become a reader let me tell
  you about this book of 35 dreamers (both male and
  female) the title is Inventing Modern America
  From the Microwave to the Mouse by David Brown
• Add your name to this list of 35

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Suggested Read During the Summer