Groves' House girls did a spectacular job of helping us to think about our dreams and aspirations as well as entertaining us with several musical presentations. Serana W., Head of Groves' House spoke to us about dreams, and then shared a special initiative:

When the word "Dream" comes to mind, you might think of that childhood dream that you always wished would secretly come true, or perhaps you think of your goals and aspirations. Oneirology, which is the study of dreams, suggests that almost all dreams have meanings. For instance, dreaming of being chased stems from feelings of anxiety. Dreaming that you are falling and not frightened suggests that you will defeat your enemies without much effort. If you are falling and are frightened, you may not have balance or power in your life. To dream that you are naked, suggests fear of exposure and wrong opinions. Drooling while dreaming indicates that you are regretting your actions in a particular circumstance.

Some of you may have heard of the term, lucid dreaming. This is when you have complete control, and are able to make subconscious decisions throughout the course of your dream. Where as in a regular dream, you may feel like things are spiralling out of control, a lucid dreamer can manipulate their situation in any way they like. In other words, there are no limitations. Are you a lucid dreamer in life, or do you naturally create limitations for yourself? Many of us do. Unfortunately, we place limitations on ourselves that often stop us from achieving our dreams. It becomes easy, and even comfortable to make excuses. You might think it's useless to apply for that scholarship, or audition for the School play, because there are so many people out there who are better then you. But if everyone thought this way, life would be pretty limited. Risks are what make life exciting – and you can't let fear of failure prevent you from doing something un-predictable.

You might be surprised to hear that your best friend has a dream that you never even knew about. People often have a tendency to keep their dreams to themselves, because why would you share something that you believe will never happen? When you say something out loud, it becomes more real, and maybe to you it might sound stupid. But the fact is, we all have dreams, and whether they are realistic or not, does not make them any less achievable. Sometimes, the most satisfying part of reaching your goal, or achieving your dream, is the journey it took to get you there. You wouldn't have that sense of fulfilment if it weren't for the setbacks you faced and overcame along the way. Stepping on to the podium to receive your gold medal at the Olympics wouldn't be the same if you hadn't overcome difficulties to get there.

When I was 4, I dreamt of having a younger brother or sister. When I was 6, I dreamt of winning a gold medal at a dance competition. When I was 13, I dreamt of getting 100 percent on a math test. At the time, those dreams seemed next to impossible, and I would have never thought any of those things could ever come true. Now that I have realized these dreams, I see things a little differently. The times where things are most difficult are the times when we need to persevere. When we finally get to that place of accomplishment, we look back and thank ourselves for not giving up the dream. Not that all dreams come true 100% of the time, because they don't. In reality, many "dreams" remain just that and never actually become real. Also, dreams have a tendency to change and evolve over time – and that's ok. Sometimes dreams get bigger, and sometimes they stop all together. You may be like me, and have multiple dreams that change every day. Or, you may have had the same dream since you learned to walk and are determined to make it come true. A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work. On the other hand, sometimes all you need is a little faith and you may be surprised to learn that you're not the only one who believes that you can achieve your dream. Now I'm going to invite some of the girls in Groves up to share their dreams.

And later in the presentation…

I would like to introduce the Groves' Realizes a Dream Project. As a House, we would like to financially help someone from our community achieve their dream, and we need your help. Our goal, in the next two weeks is to collect nominations from you. If you know of a worthy recipient who needs a helping hand in achieving their dream let us know. Maybe you know a sick child that wants to visit the San Diego Zoo, or you have a neighbour that can't afford a specialized wheelchair or you have an aunt that has always wanted to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro…you get the idea. If you know someone in your dorm, a relative or maybe a neighbour or a friend who just needs a little help to realize their dream; we want to make that happen. I will send a school-wide e-mail with all the details and information. I look forward to reading your nominations. Thank You.