Most kids dream big, with reality completely going over their heads. Well, besides me. I rarely dream of something too out of the ordinary in fear of being devastated when it doesn’t happen. Yet, every day I see and hear about people who have been dreaming big since the day they could walk. They strive for greatness, push those dreams that seemed so unrealistic, and end up making it reality. I truly do admire those people. One of the best examples is Martin Luther King Jr.

I’ve had so many dreams that I’ve let go of because I genuinely thought, “What was the point in trying for something that seemed so ridiculous?” I told myself there was no way I would be able to accomplish that dream.

But when you stop to think about what Martin Luther King Jr. did, you start to change your mind. I became determined to take advantage of the opportunities he fought and died for in order for someone like me to thrive. Because of his sacrifices, I have been able to join a diverse sports team and play alongside girls who I wouldn’t have even been able to attend school with before the civil rights movement.

As many may know, one of King’s most famous speeches focuses on that very sentence, “I have a dream.” Yes, he did– a dream that seemed almost impossible. In that time period, no one would have ever thought that a black man would single-handedly move a nation into a better era, especially coming from a time when black people were considered trash and never taken seriously or given respect.

When King first came about, white people thought he was a joke and that this man would not make a difference when there were so many before him that had tried and failed. Even with people against him, he fought to give blacks an equal chance at a better future, he fought to bring awareness to the fact that we are all equal and our skin color makes no one less of a person than the next. After hundreds of years of slavery and blacks being treated less for something they couldn’t even change, people thought this day would never come. King started a new era of peace and equality.

Because of Martin Luther King’s fight, I can go to school, work, and even use the bathroom anywhere I please. I can take the field with my team and not have anyone look at me differently or think I’m an outcast based on my color. I can go on the field as an equal and stand side by side with people that I consider friends or even family. I have been given many opportunities that seemed impossible back then. Martin Luther King  Jr. made the impossible possible.

He is remembered as a leader. He brought people together that had the same dream he did, a dream of a better future. People may have doubts and far-fetched dreams, but a man like King reminds us that our goals and dreams–with patience, hope and believing in ourselves, aren’t as far as we might think. And for that, I thank him.