There is no doubt that life throws its fair share of curveballs at us. Some are moving at 100 mph, some are bigger than your average baseball, and some of them are even on fire. Sometimes we dodge them, screaming “THAT WAS A CLOSE ONE!” Sometimes we smack them out of the park and proceed victorious. And sometimes those little suckers hit us square in the face…and those are the ones we never forget.

Here’s the thing about curveballs; you can go pick them up afterwards and hold on to them as souvenirs and reminders. If you think about it, curveballs really aren’t that special. Sure, they keep us on our toes and act as wake up calls when we least expect them. If you’re a smart player though, you’re always prepared for “the curveball” because it’s such a common pitch. It might change up on you last minute, but it won’t hurt you because you were ready for it…most of the time that is. That’s where shooting stars come in to play.

We always suspect a devious pitcher to throw a curve ball at us, but we never look at the sky prepared to see a shooting star. They are nowhere near as common as curveballs and every bit more inspiring. If life throws us a curve ball we react to it, but when a star streams across the sky for a split second we are left motionless. Shooting stars are so beautiful and rare that you can’t help but make a wish when you see one.

What do you wish for when you see a shooting star? In some way, we all make the same wish…we wish that we can fly; because at the very moment that a star trails across the sky all we want to do is chase after it. A shooting star isn’t just the visible path of a meteor as it passes through our atmosphere; it is a dream, a wonderful fantasy. Define your shooting star and I bet ANY wish that follows can translate in to chasing that dream.

Curveballs exist to remind us of the different obstacles that can come our way. Please take note, a curveball CAN hurt you!!! No shooting star has ever hurt a person; it has only left them wondering “What if?” It’s the difference between the reality and the dream, real-world and fantasy. We prepare for curve balls and other devious pitches every day of our lives. We play this game and constantly give it our best effort. But when the crowd leaves and the lights turn off, the only thing left to do while sitting in the middle of the field is chase after shooting stars.

So while curve balls remind us to keep our eyes open and our feet on the ground, shooting stars remind us to never stop following our dreams. You may never see a shooting star again, you definitely can’t go pick it up and hold on to it, but you will always embrace the moment when you see one. Keep on dreaming and never stop wishing. You’ll never get tired of chasing stars and when you finally catch yours, you’ll never let it go.