I Don't Have Dreams; I Have Goals.

This lecturer said he has never dreamt in his life and my colleagues were arguing with him. For some reason, I didn’t doubt him. A good three minutes was wasted shouting and arguing with him. They argued that every human dreams at a point in his sleep. What they didn’t get was that all along, he was not talking about sleeping and having movies playing in your head. Most often, you even wake up and forget them. He was talking about the wishes that humans have. When you eat two huge balls of kenkey and hot pepper, and you declare that you dream of becoming an Astronaut. He was talking about that time in 1963 when Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I have a dream…!”

I was with him the whole time. Not that I’m smarter than my colleagues in class, but I understood Dr. Alidu Seidu, my Politics and Development lecturer. Thinking about it though, they should have gotten the idea the moment he said, “I have never had a dream. Everything that I have now, I worked hard for it.” He didn’t explain much. He played along with the banter because he welcomed the relief. After all, all work and no play makes a Alidu a dull lecturer.

My mom tells me when I was young, they used to make songs for me with my names. I have lots of them. Apparently, Selasie was my name too. They used to create melodies like, ‘Fiifi Doctor, Evans Lawyer, Odoi President, Aboah Pastor, Selasie Bank Manager…’. I don’t remember those moments. I don’t know but I’m sure I was more concerned about sucking my mother’s breasts and having a healthy growth. Not sure I handled her nipples well because now, my head is big and I can only see with the aid of glasses with the thickest lens you’ll ever see.

I have never had a dream. Not that I can remember. I don’t have dreams, I have goals. When I was young and in Junior High School, I wanted to attend a first class senior high school. You needed to pass the BECE before that could be possible. Looking back, I think I worked way too hard for the exam. Or I should say I think my daddy worked me way too hard for the exam. I remember an exam he made my cousin and I write at home. It was Social Studies. I finished quickly and slept on the desk. My daddy was furious. “So this is what you are going to do at the real exam hall!” in my mind, I was like, ‘look fam, it’s not that deep.’ When my daddy brought the papers back, I had 87%, my cousin had a cool 90% but I wasn’t bothered at all. What I am getting at is that, I had a goal to be in Persco, and I worked hard to get there. I have only ever hugged my step mom once in this life. That was when the BECE results came out.

My high school life was a blur. I juggled being a non-serious student and being a very neat student. My goal at the time was to be the neatest student. Come on, prefects are not on this list. They are required to be neat at all times. I was actually really regular for a large chunk of my first term in school. I was dirty, unfortunately, like most of the boys. We can pass with, “it’s a boys school. You don’t need to impress anyone.” People will call you gay (out of ignorance and boredom) if you are too neat.

Two incidents changed my life. I passed by one Kwesi Jiggs who was a senior at the time. He called me back and asked if I used any deodorant. I just stared at him. He told me bluntly that I smelled really bad, all the while urging me to take my bath everyday and use a nice deodorant. If I heard that from anyone today, I would be a bit devastated. At that time, I didn’t care. I saw him as ‘too known’. Then another time, this senior that I admired punished me. He was neat but gee, if you know what I mean. He kept an afro which was always neatly combed. And his clothing was always clean and pressed. He is the one that changed me then. My punishment (for whatever it was) was to wear clean and pressed clothes. I obliged. It seemed easier than clearing a large portion of stubborn weed. And since then… I think you should ask about the white shirt and trousers I was spotted in on Sundays. Now, it wasn’t my goal but eventually it became mine and I lived up to it. My best memory of that four year period was when Felix Gyamerah, my year group’s assistant School Prefect (whom I consider the neatest of all time) asked me for a white shirt. I was very happy he had recognized me and my effort. All I am saying is that I didn’t dream of being one of the neatest if not the neatest student. It was a goal and I worked hard to achieve it.

The Harvey Specter

Admittedly, I have not always known the difference between dreams and goals. I only got to know this when I watched Suits. S03E06. That episode changed Harvey’s life. Harvey had finally gotten his name on the wall as a Name Partner in Jessica Pearson’s law firm.  His secretary, Donna, walked into his office after seeing the sign. She mentioned a celebration and the following conversation ensued:

Harvey: You saw the sign?

Donna:  Yeah, dream come true for any lawyer.

Harvey: I don’t have dreams, I have goals, and now it’s on to the next one.

 That is the conversation that made me realize that there was a thin line separating dreams and goals. And since then, I have tried so hard to make sure that I do not have dreams. I set goals and make sure they are achieved. I remember there was this girl that I liked. I set a goal concerning when I would finally get her to like me and when I would get to kiss her. I worked towards it and thankfully, I didn’t fail. Oh yeah!

Google has search results that tell you the huge and many differences between Dreams and Goals. “According to an online dictionary, ‘a dream is a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind. A goal is a projected state of affairs that  a person or a system plans or intends to achieve’…”

So you are allowed to dream. But don’t let it end there. If your dreams appeal to you and you want to live them, just make them goals and achieve them!     

Imagine yourself being a President of a nation. If you don’t make plans and put in work to reach that desired point, you are just a dreamer.

Maybe it’s good to dream. I can’t decide for you. I, for one though, would rather set a goal and make sure it’s achieved, rather than have dreams and not work towards them.

My name is Fiifi Khoruz and I don’t have dreams; I have goals.