As children, we dream of what we want to be as an adult. Everyone has a dream. Some realize their dreams, while others never seem to achieve theirs.

Dreams of becoming a doctor, lawyer, rock star, or even president, have been in the hearts of many children. I want to share with you a short story of a small 6-year-old boy's dream.

On vacation one year in South Florida, my husband and I took the family on a charter tour to watch divers dive for sponge. My son, Christopher, was only 6 and overly excited. The divers were dressed in huge head gear and a suit that resembled a uniform that an astronaut would wear. Chris watched bright eyed as the divers brought up small containers of sea sponge. He wasn't interested in what the divers were bringing from the ocean floor; he was mesmerized only by the divers.

Needless to say, it was hard to pull that little boy away from the dock when the tour ended. The divers were so kind to Chris. He asked them a hundred questions only a 6-year-old could ask. We finally convinced Chris that we should leave because the divers needed to return to work. Chris told me as we left that he was going to be a diver when he grew up.

From the age of 6 into his teens, Chris swam for the Paddlers swim team. After graduating from high school, Chris joined the military. Before joining the military, he did intense research about the diving programs in the Army, Navy and Marines.

He found that the Army had a branch of divers. This branch consisted of about 100 men. His recruiter told him that very few could finish the training. With sheer determination, hard work and time away from his family, Chris fulfilled his dream and become a United States Army diver.

Chris graduated at The Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center in Panama City Beach, Fla. I was so proud of my son at his graduation, standing in his Army uniform among a sea of Navy divers.

During his 13 years as an Army diver, Chris has worked in many states, including Georgia, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Maine, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey and New York.

He worked in Washington, D.C., in support of the NATO summit. The divers were in Puerto Rico for humanitarian relief work, building piers. His group was deployed to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands to salvage a 160-foot vessel that was blocking the port of call. Chris also served at Fort Sherman in Panama, Fort Shafer in Hawaii and on missions to Korea.

If you have a dream, don't stop until you fulfill that goal.

Shirley Valencia is a Granite City resident and a member of Calvary Baptist Church.