KEEP DREAMING

The most underrated inventions are the ones we use in our everyday lives. Or the ones we benefit from without giving them a second thought. Nobody thinks twice about reading from a book or turning on a light bulb. (You can thank Johannes Gutenberg and Thomas Edison for those.)

Claire Weltz

Claire Weltz

I wouldn’t be able to communicate this appeal for creative thinking if it weren’t for the invention of language. Both oral and written language contributed to the rise of education and the sharing of thoughts and ideas. Without it, advancement would be futile.

Language is the perfect channel for ideas to ebb and flow. Because of communication, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Thankfully, other people have recorded their findings for us to catapult off of. Why can’t you leave behind that same legacy? Your ideas are just as valuable, and you have the means to spread them, too.

Inventions aren’t solely the work of the elite geniuses. No, they’re for everyone – both the originators and the beneficiaries. There is no idea that is too big or too small. The bendy straw exists, and so does nuclear energy.

Your imagination is amazing. Look at what your brain does when you aren’t even awake. It dreams. Dreams can be silly, like pink wolves dancing the “Macarena,” but the ones that flirt with reality are the most meaningful. You dream about making the winning shot or seeing someone you miss terribly. And that’s just your brain subconsciously operating. How much more can you do when you’re awake, when your head isn’t against the pillow?

Dream bigger and dream better. Find the cure for cancer, design wedding dresses or start a restaurant. No one expects you to change the world, but use that as fuel to do more. Prove them wrong. Use that marvelous and incredible mind of yours to mold your corner of the world. You don’t need to be a Gutenberg, a Newton or an Edison to change the world. Simply be the best that you can possibly be.

Claire Weltz is a senior at Minot High School, where she is involved in soccer, National Honor Society, Spanish Club and Key Club. An aspiring engineer, she enjoys 1980s movies, writing in her journal, and cuddling with her two Boston terriers. Her parents are Paul and Cindy Weltz, members of Verendrye Electric Cooperative.