To Infinity and Beyond
I always wanted to explore space, I watched many movies and series inspired by the uncharted territory. They make space feel so big and unpredictable that the impossible might just be possible.
Like sentient droids, and treasure planets, and time travelers, and omnisexuality, and interspecies love, and peace, and what it’s like to watch the end of the world.
I dreamed of what space would have in store for me. I dreamed of the endless possibilities it holds. I dreamed of the possible impossible. Then I grew up and my dreams of space were blurred by the constraints of reality, that the sky is the limit.
The stars barely shine where I live, veiled by the pollution and the city lights, so I kept my head down now because it already seemed bright enough here. The promise of success and money and fame, the allure of hope in capitalism, the idea of perfect love and family, they kept me here. They kept me from dreaming.
Spending most of my time chasing those promises, I didn’t have time to go out and enjoy the view, I didn’t really have any time to enjoy what I was doing. I was too busy imagining the ‘what will’. And as I daydreamed, I would look up at the sky and search for something.
I looked when I waited at the office for my client, I looked when I was on the rooftop with my friends, I looked when I went out to buy cigarettes after I performed my piece. It felt like I needed to remember something.
One day, I saw a tiny dot shining through. As I focused on that one dot, I remembered that there is life beyond the sky. I remembered my innocence, I remembered my optimism, I remembered that I never dreamed of success, money, fame, or perfection.
I remembered who I am.
So I keep searching for the stars every night, even if some nights I can’t see them, as a constant reminder that the impossible might still be possible.
