When I close my eyes at night, I slip into a light sleep
Some would call it a dream,
But dreams often imply a lack of control-
Of course, dreams are rmade of past enounters and future desires,
Neural connections firing to trigger certain thoughts
And other feeings.
What I experience in my time of rest is tangential to this process,
It could be described as a dreamscape
A space contoured to my desires.
Some nights are more vivid than others
Sending remnants of my future into my morning tea.

This space in my vision is not confined to a single location- the locale is I.
The surrounding environment cultivates ingenuity as well as collaboration.
A midwestern campus with lush green comes into focus
And there is a stark contrast of red brick buildings-
Inviting ideas and enouraging students to use the surrounding community
As a spark plug for change.

I accept the invitation and take the opportunity to pursue my passion
To catalze the empowerment of the disenfranchised
First acknowledging the lack of foundation for self-improvement
Highlighting the detrimental cycle
Trapping those on the bottom of the pyramid
Those fed one lowly reality,
You are on the bottom
And that is where you belong.
To eliminate the mindset of emotional desolation
I will counteract the paralysis injected by the 1%.
In this space my job allows the power of knowledge
To flood the minds of the community as a whole
Discarding the attitude of dejection
Advancing the coexistence and collaboration
Modeled by the campus functioning as a platform.
For this vision circumscibes self, but no sooner do I realize
Self encompasses a collective of souls, we.
With the recognition & reception of this collective
My path creates the ability, for many,
To invent, foster, develop and maintain
The self-esteem of a nation,
One individual,
One family,
One community,
One demographic at a time.
While the dreamscape illuminates a large scope of my future
It doesn't leave out the particulars;
Adequate funding requires thoughtful words,
Meaningful networking, prayer & hard work
And the faith to take advantage of the superlative opportunity
The George Warren Brown School of Social Work has to offer.

My work is cut out for me when I open my eyes
With remnants of my future in my morning tea.