By Maria Allen Cellan

Do we still remember the reasons why we are working in this foreign country? Do we still remember our dreams and our plans before we left home? I hope so. Or do we believe that dreaming is just wishful thinking, and that our fate has already been decided for us? Have we already decided that what we do now is what we want to do for the rest of our lives?

Remember those days when you were still planning to work overseas: what were the reasons that motivated you? Maybe you wanted to buy a house and a lot for your family, or maybe you needed to save up some money for a sick relative. Maybe you are a single mother who dreams about giving her children a good education. As for me, I have lots of reasons why I am working overseas. My dream is to save enough money to start my own business and get my Master’s degree in Business Administration, and maybe after that take a course to be qualified as preschool teacher.

Whatever our dreams are, we should never stop reminding ourselves why we are in a foreign country, working hard. We should always be thinking about what’s possible for us in our lifetime. I am pretty sure that most of us don’t want to spend the rest of our lives working overseas and away from our families. We need to keep our dream alive in our hearts, even as we are pushed to work harder and harder every day, enduring all the pains caused by work, all the sleepless crying nights, the homesickness, the starvation and even the lack of freedom and dignity for ourselves. All this endurance should not be wasted.

I like to think about what is possible and what can I achieve in my life. I don’t want to reach a certain age and regret that I never tried to do something new for myself that I can be proud of. Dreaming about something doesn’t mean it is going to happen right away: it takes time, effort, focus and hard work. But dreaming allows you to imagine how your life could be better than it is at the moment. When we dream, there are no limits.

But sometimes, we get caught up in the reality of daily life and forget why we are here. Some of us just accept our lot for what it is, and even stop trying new things that could help us grow or achieve our dreams. But we should not accept mediocrity as our destiny. I am not saying we can’t have fun during our days off; what I am saying is that we shouldn’t lose our focus, or forget our goals.

We are all better than we know. We must try to achieve our goals, and never settle for anything less. And most of all, we must never stop dreaming.