I have a foster brother who is a pilot. He studied aeronautical engineering after which he commenced upon the search for employment. After searching for years he finally got a job, then started a cargo company with a friend. They work in DRC transporting everything and anything that needs to be transported. If planes could talk, his plane would tell the tales of a million lifetimes.

When he came to visit we embarked on a conversation about the fighting in DRC. He tells me they are stationed right in the middle of the war. At night he can hear gun shots and landing missiles which blow someones house down along with it's occupants. It could be his neighbour's house or a house far away, but every time a missile is launched he lives in fear that this time it could be him. Luckily he's managed to stay alive so far. I ask him, are you going back? He says yes he will, life's expenses requires that one earn a living and this where he earns his. Every time he travels to Congo there is a possibility of him not coming back, but its a possibility he's willing to deal with as long as he can provide for and take care of his children whose mother passed away a few years ago.

Strange enough talking with him did not instill fear within me, rather I gained an admiration for him because he is taking a risk, doing what he loves and facing death in the midst of it all. If there is a way to live, that would be it. Often we give up after looking and searching for something in vain. Remember that dream of being an engineer you had as a kid, in the process of growing up a lot of things happen and that dream is forgotten and we end up taking what we can get. My brother didn't give up, his love for airplanes gave him heart to not compromise and settle. He works in one of the most dangerous places on earth, but he is a pilot, something he always wanted to be.

Despite life's trials and challenges, never lose that child in you who had dreams. It is possible to be happy doing what you love and not what people expect you to do. After all it is your life, you live it, you tell the stories after age catches up with you. Make it an interesting story and not one of what could have been and the bitterness of settling for mediocre instead of the best.

Tags & Keywords : life, fun, career