The struggle for any dream is always worth the effort. For in the struggle lies its strength and fulfillment …”

These are a few words of wisdom in a poem I received before school started this year.

Many historical stories are hidden behind that passage. For they are powerful words that hold underlying meanings about making changes and taking risks. In my case, the situation is a positive change that has resulted in writing this last column.

Change is inevitable, regardless of how we feel about it. Change forces us to deal with new challenges that make us step out of our safety zone and take risks.

By this, I mean that we tend to do things we wouldn’t have done in the past or done alone. Our friends are a big influence on these risks, whether we go somewhere or act differently in various situations.

Throughout college, many of us face challenges in our classes, jobs and relationships. They all trigger us to think about issues and associate with people we wouldn’t have otherwise.

Regardless of the magnitude of these challenges, we are affected by them. They make us think harder and some of them even change our view of the world.

And hopefully, these experiences make us a different and better person at graduation than we were as freshmen.

However, rarely does one risk change a person overnight.

It takes a lot of time, patience, energy and a little risk to transform ourselves into the person we want to be by the time we graduate.

Yet, graduation should not be the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is living the dream that made you come to Iowa State in the first place, whether it be farming 1,000 plus acres with the latest agricultural technology, traveling in space or anything else.

The ultimate goal, though, can’t be pursued without taking those little risks, making those sacrifices and, in some cases, putting up with jobs that underestimate your abilities.

I hear students talk about where they think they’ll be after graduation, and a lot of the time the answer is, “I don’t know.”

However, where someone wants to be and where he or she ends up are usually two entirely different things.

Rarely does that ultimate goal come about during the first job after college. But no matter how much effort is put into the goal, the “dream is always worth the effort.”

You may think you’ve worked hard enough to reach your destination. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee you will arrive there and be successful.

Taking little risks along the path of a goal is a way to go about it, but one can only go so far to achieve success.

What you learned about yourself in the process of pursuing the dream is the important part of the journey.

This is what growing up is all about, this is what college is all about, this is what life is all about. It changes you.

And in a small way, I’d like to think even though we may be considered nothing more than a small speck of dust in our planet’s history, we will have all made our mark in life in some way.

The little risks we take make us who we are today and who we will become. It also changes how we go about pursuing our dreams.

For “…you’ll find confidence in yourself that will make each challenge easier to face…you’ll find an inner strength that will help you past obstacles…For in the struggle lies [the dream’s] strength and fulfillment…”

---

Shuva Rahim is a senior in journalism and mass communication and sociology from Davenport.