“One way we can enliven the imagination is to push it toward the illogical."- Stella Adler.

All of our lives we are taught that we must be logical and think about things in a way that they “make sense,” and yet in this famous quote we are encouraged to be illogical. I believe that being illogical is something that everyone should strive for.

I remember in the fourth grade when we were told that we were going to participate in a career fair. Everyone wanted something different. This assignment was open-ended, and we could choose anything we wanted. Except that we couldn’t choose. We were told that we were old enough to realize that we weren’t all going to become basketball players, YouTubers or singers. We were told that we needed to choose something that was logical, that anyone could do. I wrote that I wanted to be a doctor and a missionary, but that wasn’t actually true, my real passion has always been and always will be music. However, very few make it in the music industry, and it is somehow illogical or even irrational for a person to believe that it is possible for them to be an artist of any kind - but if everyone thought that way where would we be? We wouldn’t have music to listen to because it was illogical, or art to look at because it was strange and unappreciated. Not everyone was born to be a pro football player or a pop star and yet isn’t the “American Dream” all about being illogical? Many people come to America from other countries to follow their dreams because people say that anything is possible here. From an early age, we are always told that we can follow our dreams, but many times it is impossible to be logical and follow our dreams. Are we supposed to sacrifice our dreams to be logical? I don’t think so. After all, we are encouraged to do the illogical nearly every day.

One thing that many people look forward to is moving out of their parent’s house. Freedom is what everyone wants, freedom to do, say and be what you want. However, leaving the stability of your home is illogical when you think about it. Someone else pays for you to do everything and the only thing they ask in return is the occasional chore. I’m not saying that you should never move out of your parent’s house. This is an example of something that most everyone does that few people question. In this instance, being illogical is somehow logical and yet other times illogicality is frowned upon.

In the past couple of years, I have developed a somewhat sensitive stomach. I find that it is hard for me to eat gluten or dairy without feeling sick, but chocolate is my Kryptonite. I eat it whenever I can, knowing what will inevitably follow. It is illogical for me to do this and yet I find it is worth it. I know that it sounds strange, but illogicality isn’t just true when dealing with delicious sweets. It is true for many other things as well. Many people have started non-profit businesses and left their jobs that paid a significantly larger amount. They left what was stable and began a new journey. Many times these people are considered successful. Did it make sense for them to leave their jobs? No. Absolutely not. And yet - it paid off in the end. Sometimes the logical thing isn’t always the right thing to do -- whereas, other times it gets you a stomach ache. If this is true then maybe, I don’t want to be logical.

In the end, I want to follow my dreams. I want to do things that don’t make sense, but that pay off in the end. I believe in being illogical, and that’s exactly what I intend to be.