The Little Irish Boxer

In the dream this morning I see a short young Irish kid who dreams of becoming a lightweight boxer. He is in his early twenties and a university student. Boxing is his passion and he believes it will be his ticket to fame.

I see him going to the university gym everyday for years. His university Major is in Recreation. Despite his hard work and dedication to the sport it seems he has not succeeded at becoming a new boxing sensation. My boss, Juan Garcia, shows up in this dream and he comes to the gym to meet this young man to persuade him to drop out of school and come to work with his maintenance company, and clean banks for a living. Juan tells me he wants to save him from having his dreams crushed and offer him a more secure future. Sadly, the kid is just not that talented a boxer. This is when I wake up.

I look at this dream with a lot of mixed emotions in an attempt to understand it. I see a lot of myself in this little Irish boxer. I was university student for a lot of years and I had a dream once of earning lots of money in a professional position. I failed to reach that goal and now I work in a job more suited to my talents and experience. A part of me still wants something bigger and better, and more glamorous, and refuses to give up the dream.

My professor declared that my chosen industry was going to chew me up and spit me out. That did not build up my self confidence much. However, it did motivate me to prove him wrong. Boxing seems a very apt metaphor. I feel like I was a pummelled and defeated boxer. I like my current job with the maintenance company. It has built up my confidence and I am very grateful to have the best paying job I have ever had. I have been lifted up off the mat of defeat and feel like I am redeemed.

Still, there is a nagging restlessness in me to finish what I started, to at least complete my university degree, even if I never use it for it's intended purpose. Life has taken a different track for me, but I have still not given up the fight. I can relate well with the small tough Irish fighter of my dream. We both have been beaten down but have not been knocked out.

I spoke to my university I still have another year to finish my degree. I need only one math class to meet the requirements and graduate. I need a coach or tutor to get me through this final round. I will not be winning any title belt, fame or fortune, but damn it, I just might finish standing up. It isn't over until the final bell of the last round rings.