If I could describe spring in a color, it would be a lime hue of green—that’s what they were, lime-green.

When I would close my eyes and drift off to sleep, I would dream of a world where the flowers grew taller than I was, the sky was a brilliant shade of blue, and the flora and fauna were my friends. Unfortunately for my expansive imagination, I would wake up and be without magical powers.

I was obsessed with Tinker Bell from a young age and wanted to be just like her. I asked my mom for lime-green wings—that’s what they were, lime-green—because I wanted to make my dreams a reality.

When I finally got what I was hoping for, my lime-green wings, my mom helped me put them on. As soon as they were on my back, my face dropped. To say I was disappointed was a complete understatement—my imagination was shattered.

My mom instantly asked me what was wrong, fearing that she had bought the wrong color or maybe that the straps around my shoulders were too tight—none of this was the case. 

I was let down by the fact that my dreams hadn’t become a reality—I couldn’t fly. The lime-green wings that brought me a step forward to my heart’s desire left me astray, and it was earth-shattering.

While it was one of the worst things to happen to me then, it is something I can look back on and laugh about now. I still have aspirations and dreams, although more realistic, just like my younger self strived to be a fairy. I thought putting on a costume would make me the person I wanted to be.

Now, I realize life doesn’t hand us things because we wish on shooting stars; life meets us halfway in our requests, presenting us with opportunities to succeed. I don’t have to put on a costume to achieve my goals–I can work towards them and achieve them on my own.

Although my career goals have changed many times since I’ve started thinking about it, I know that I want to be successful in whatever it is that I pursue. 

While it can be fun to dress up as someone else and step into their shoes for a day, we have to keep ourselves grounded and realize that we still are living the life that we were given—we sometimes need to make something out of nothing. At the end of the day, I can take off my fairy wings and still achieve the dreams that I strive to accomplish.

That’s what they were, lime-green.