• The Heart of the Dream

I remember believing in myself whole heartedly in grade school. I remember believing that becoming a doctor was exactly what I would do when I “Grew-up”. Becoming doctor was my dream.

And then I remember being a freshman in college, sitting in a Biology class at UC Santa Cruz, looking around, and coming to the realization that being a doctor was not what I would do as a profession – at least in the next 30 years of life! This realization was VERY unexpected and made me feel very uncertain as to what I was going to do to remedy a very expensive decision I was no longer certain of – becoming a doctor.

I had mentors, I had supportive friends, and a high school counselor that stuck around with me through my first 2 years of college. But most of all I had PARENTS who supported me in this realization and gave me the courage & support to allow my dream to evolve. With this support and guidance my new dream became less focused on a ten-year plan and more focused on my heart to help others.

I went on to earn my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Sacramento State (Stingers up!) and soon I was working in the field of behavioral therapy for children on the autistic spectrum, and then I moved into a corporate position in employee relations. Both places allowed me to care, find understanding, and be useful to the people I was working with.

Instead of being certain of the outcomes of my dreams, I became more focused on the heart of my dream.

This perspective has led me to many other adventures and jobs (AROUND THE WORLD) and most certainly to my decision to establish & found the Sacramento Youth Center. It was because I realized that I need to stay true to the heart of my dream, I continue to find complete fulfillment in my work – this sort of fulfillment is what I consider success.

Our team at SYC is working to help our youth find the heart of their dreams, we are also encouraging Parents/Guardians to be apart of that process. Without support from loved ones a dream can die and how devastating that the dream of the child would die before it had the chance to change the world.

If you want a resource on how you can help your child realize the HEART of their dream check out our FREE Parent Guide.

Raquel Shipp

Raquel Shipp

Executive Director

Other Blog Posts

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.