Letting Yourself Stargaze

As a kid, I kept waiting for the day the night sky would look like one of those pictures I saw online where the photographer was out in the middle of nowhere, and it looked like they could see all the stars in the universe. Growing up in southern New Jersey, living close to Philadelphia didn't give me a whole lot of opportunity for stargazing. On most nights, there are approximately five to eight stars visible from my backyard. Nevertheless, there's something that makes me still stop and wonder at the night sky.

My friend is from Pennsylvania, and last year she took me and a few friends to her favorite stargazing spot. There just happened to be a meteor shower that night, which was absolutely stunning, and I'm so happy I got to witness it.

There's something poetic about these "falling stars" as we call them.

I've been wishing on stars all my life for the things I've thought impossible…and yes, some of those things actually were impossible, like my parents buying me a horse to keep in the backyard, or that I would someday wake up with magic powers that allowed me to fly. Yet, I have also asked the stars for the things I was just too scared of at the time. I can't count the number of times I've wished to be an author, but I think I wished for it because I was scared of having that wish in the first place.

I think the biggest reason that we give the stars our wishes is that we are afraid of being a "falling star", a meteor. We are so fearful of failure that we forget the power we do have to make our wishes come true (within reason, of course). Fearing our wishes will only hold us back from being everything we've ever wanted.

While the meteors do fall, the night sky stays unchanged. The stars endure…and so must we.

I still look up at the stars, but I'm no longer giving them the wishes I'm scared to want. I'm no longer afraid of the unknown. Instead, when I look at the stars, I see the possibility of what I could be: shining, bright, and beautiful, the strong and confident person I've always wanted to be. So, tonight, when you look at the stars, don't think of everything you lack…think of all you stand to gain.