[dafodilkemmy]

Inuyasha,

You're 13: Doctor and Astronaut are well within your reach if you wish to pursue either. It's all a matter of determining your goals and working to achieve them.

As for me...I grew up in Dallas, Texas, so I suppose it's fairly natural that I'd want to play professional (American) football for the Cowboys. I played through high school, but didn't have the size to be competitive at the collegiate level, so a career in professional football was out.

Fighter pilot was my next objective, but I didn't have 20/20 vision at a time when there was such a glut of pilots in the Air Force that I couldn't get a waiver. I stuck with the Air Force, though, and today I'm a Major working in Air Force Space Command. Amusingly enough, I could apply for the Astronaut program right now as a mission specialist, but I'm not particularly interested in that option at this point in my career (now...ten years ago...!).

One of the strangest lessons I've learned is that you never stop dreaming, you never stop looking to the horizon, no matter how many years you put under your belt. The hardest things to overcome are fear of failure and inertia. Oddly enough, kendo's philisophical underpinnings will prepare you well to do just that, so stick with it.

Chase those dreams, my man! Humans are a lot like sharks: the moment we stop moving, we sink and drown.

Cheers