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| Spoogmai, KDS Featured Dancer |
Children teach us to dream.
Yes, we, too, are able to dream. However, we
dream in confinement. We have created a mental box with the label, "Dream
Here." This box gets smaller each year. Suddenly, we're not as healthy as
we used to be. We realize we may not be as smart as we thought we were. And
year after year, it becomes more dangerous to dream big and risk everything.
But children teach us to dream. And one such
child is Spoogmai.
Spoogmai (spooj-my)
is the baby of her family at the age of six. She shares her life with six
brothers and four sisters. Her father cannot find work in Afghanistan therefore
her mother provides what little income they do have. Quite contrary to what most people would think
about a little girl growing up in Afghanistan, Spoogmai comes from a loving
family that supports her interest in dance and her dreams for the future.
For Spoogmai, dance class is where she learns
something that sets her apart from the rest of her family, where she finds new
friends, and where her shyness sleeps for a while. She smiles when asked what
her favorite Dance memory is. Her voice changes from a small whisper to a
louder recount of a dance recital where she was engulfed by a yellow dress.
"I was nervous," she confessed, leaning in closer. "Next time, I
won't be nervous."
So what is so special about this little girl
and her big brown eyes that occasionally flit away shyly? I'll tell you what
inspires me to dream with her. It is her goal for the future that sets her
apart from other little girls. Spoogmai wants to become a dentist. The
implication this dreams holds is profound. Children, like Spoogmai, are now
being taught that seeking a life other than what was given by birth and
tradition is plausible. This generation is dreaming of things that were not
deemed possible a few years ago in Afghanistan. Spoogmai’s generation is
changing.
Spoogmai’s generation gives Afghanistan hope.
Written by Laila, KDS Team Member
Written by Laila, KDS Team Member
