I Believe In Ambition

By

I believe in ambition and going for the things you want. I also believe in taking the consequences for actions associated with that ambition.

It is just too short. Life is just too short for a stiff smile or fake laugh. It’s too short to live where you don’t want to be or do what you don’t want to do. The best times are brief, but filled with a brilliant enjoyment.

We’re in grandma’s sitting room, and I am that age where the world still shines with newness—about one or so. My mother talks animatedly with my aunt and grandma, while my grandpa walks around the house getting ready for work. I am an inquisitive child; I crawl around only stopping to touch and pick up things in my path. I crawl around the striped cream-colored loveseat and couch right up to the coffee table in the middle of the room. The table is an amazing combination of wood and glass, and the explorer in me drawls closer to it on impulse. Atop the table sits the best pieces of my grandma’s crystal collection. Four delicate pieces of various design are scattered about. In the morning sun, the crystal sparkles and splays light on the smooth brown faces of my loved ones.

It is simply beautiful. My little eyes enjoy the lights; my little hands want to touch.

When I reach the table, I grab on to the edge and pull myself to standing and wobble a bit. My mother’s hand on my little diapered butt keep me steady, but she is not really paying attention. With the extra leverage, my little hand is able to reach out and grasp the closest piece. The moment I feel it on the soft pads of my fingers is unforgettable. Summer in Chicago necessitates the AC that year, so clear crystal is chilled. It feels to the hand as mint to the mouth. I am overjoyed and swept away in the sensation. I clutch that crystal tight and pull it closer.

The next moments are a blur of events. Of course, my action breaks the piece, a crystal angel with out stretched wings and praying hands. My mom snatches me away from the table quickly; my aunt yells sharply. My grandma is the most livid I’ve ever seen to this point in my life. Rightfully so, later she will tell me the cost of that piece, and I will shudder with sticky guilt.

When I touched that praying angel I realized the joy of a moment. The eventual punishment cemented a belief.

Even if it hurts later, touch that crystal; go after what you want.