Lindsay Eland - Middle Grade Author

This is what my 8-year-old Gracie wrote for a school assignment. The last line is my very favorite.

My Dreams

by Gracie Eland

“Martin Luther King had a dream that all people were treated equally. If I had a dream it would be about wishing to become the most famous artist in the world. I hope that I become not one of the best artists but this best int eh world. I would draw and paint animals and people like Mona Lisa. I hope that I become just as good as my mom’s sister, Alisa (and she is amazing!). I dream of sharing my gift to the world. I also dream of being the fastest human on earth.”

Oh, that last line. How I love it. Of course, I love the fact that Gracie wants to be an artist and she really is an exceptional one…but that last line: “I also dream of being the fastest human on earth.” It makes me laugh out loud and smile even as I read it. The randomness and sweetness of the statement and the dream.

I remember the talk in Elementary school about who was the fastest.

Fastest boy?

Fastest girl?

Fastest kid overall?

Me and a great friend Lauren McGrath were the fastest girls in the 6th grade. Sometimes she would win and other times I would (though I have to say that I did not beat Lauren after that year and she went on to race all through High School and College…the Air Force, to be exact, so umm…yeah, she’s faster) Anyway, I remember as a kid running as fast as I could, the breath whooshing through my lungs, my legs on fire. The image I had in my mind of what I probably looked like…or what I hoped I looked like was not unlike Dash in The Incredibles. So, so fast that my legs were blurry. That if someone took my picture I’d just be a streak on the film.

Ah yes. The dream of being the fastest.

Sweet memories.