what's your inspiration?

I once found inspiration in knowing that I would one day wake up and I'd be in a world where I would stand on my own, have the life of my dreams and be the person that everyone I knew was so proud of. When you're young you have this superficial reality of what life will become and that by the time you reach your twenties you'll be some experienced yet lavish prude. I went to school, I excelled in gifted programs, and I made my way to college, thinking that some day the light I had inside of me would shine through exhibiting all of the worldly things and knowledge I had picked up in someone's stale and confined classroom.
I'm embarking on the part of my time where you start to realize that saying it's never too late is no longer a euphemism used be so optimistic about things. I'm sure those of the world have gone through life thinking what have I learned? what can I do to benefit the world? where is my place? and how will I attract others to what is so important about me?
I wanted to be learned, I wanted to see the world, I wanted to know the name of a painting just by glancing at it, I wanted to be heard. But how do I do that when I'm thinking that what I have learned in school has no comparison to the thoughts and experiences of others?
I know my life isn't perfect and I often struggle with the fact that by the time my dreams possibly become reality I won't be able to grasp what's right in front of me. Have you ever dreamed so much in life that you didn't know how to come down? Have you ever been asked time and time again where do you see yourself headed? and what inspires you? I have, too many times, and each time I couldn't put my inspiration into words. I felt that what I was dreaming about was just a silly little thing called luck. You'd have to be pretty lucky or either filthy rich to end up happy in a world full of negative. And then that still might not work. But I'm at the point where I know I've realized that inspiration doesn't just come from what we've always dreamed about or seen in the magazines or on TV. Inspiration comes from knowing that the sky is the limit; making a way is possible. I can write until my fingers fall off, but I know I'll be happy doing so. Read a book, write a journal, travel, go see a play or an opera, pick up a piece of trash off the street, offer your help to someone less fortunate . Look inside yourself and know that what inspires you can mean a world wind to others when they don't have the courage to think outside the box. Look at the world around you, its all yours.