I live in such a fantasy world – one that includes a dream of living in a house made of candy, money trees and the Lions winning the Super Bowl this year.

Throughout my life, I’ve surrounded myself with the idea of a certain utopia and the more uncomfortable I would get, the more I would retreat into this fabricated world.

College may to be a rude awakening for many of us, but when is it acceptable to stop chasing a dream? What if someone hoping to one day be in the Olympics gives up on that dream, when they had a good chance of making it happen?

Choosing one path often leads you away from another. But we’ve been asked countless times to make a choice at the young age of 18 that will create a path we will follow for the rest of our lives. Dreams are supposed to be big, but the line between reality and possibility is often blurred.

Many people have a vision and a clear outlook on life, or at least that’s what it seems like. Every student here has some sort of purpose, whether they have discovered what that is yet or not. But maybe this image of what life is supposed to look like that we’ve painted in our minds isn’t quite right. Maybe what is actually holding most people back is this picture itself, and the life we believe we should have is the obstacle blocking our view.

Hipsters have it right. This exponentially growing group of thick-rimmed-glasses-wearing dudes and dudettes do things because they aren’t mainstream. And too often we fall into certain roles and lifestyles because they’re either easy, or they are expected of us. We, who are all unique, become mainstream.

But what if you want to be mainstream? Are you a “new-age” hipster if you decide that by going against the grain of going against the grain, you will go with the ordinary? Ordinary isn’t so bad.

If you don’t want to wear glasses, scarfs and sweaters with cats on them (though everyone should have at least one), riding along or against the grain, then don’t. Go along with what you, personally, believe is best.

Justin Timberlake, and I’m sure many before him, had it right when he sang what goes around comes around. In a perfect world, the karma police sneakily patrol a little town called Life. So if you’ve racked up some previous misdemeanors there, be aware that the domino effect isn’t a myth.

The intentions that go along with actions speak volumes. I have a strong belief that it doesn’t matter what you do, but why you do it. And although often refuted, I stick to this notion because I can only blissfully imagine what would happen if people started doing good things without expecting something in return.

I guess I’ll just jump back to my utopia and hope that money tree season starts soon.

[email protected]