SoxSpace News

Dare to dream by Jared Carrabis
...because anything is possible

First, I just wanted to thank everyone who took time out of their Saturday to come to my first book signing at Newbury Comics this past weekend.

Second, I wanted to thank everyone who spent their hard-earned dollars to give my book a chance. Completing this project has been a dream come true for me and the feeling that I get each and every time someone welcomes my book into their home is indescribable. I say that because the amount of hard work and dedication that went into writing the book was beyond anything I had ever expected.

But, of course, it all started with a dream.

As you may know, my dream to become a writer started on MySpace. SoxSpace originated on MySpace, before becoming its own website and creating a fan base on Facebook. The same can be said about Veronica Ballestrini. If you're into the country music scene, then you may have heard her name, and if you haven't yet, then you will.

Our stories practically mirror each other. It all started with a dream that we took to the social networking world of MySpace for all of the world to see. Veronica dreamed of becoming a country singer, and with the support of her entire family, she began recording her music and putting it on her MySpace music page for all to hear.

We met over MySpace when we were both teenagers just starting out, without a notable accomplishment in the careers in which we dreamed to pursue. Our first ever conversation was about how she dreamed of becoming a country singer and how I wanted to be a writer, but what were the chances of that happening to just one of us, never mind both?

"My first goal was just to get to Nashville and record an album," she said. "Now that I've accomplished that, I want that music to get heard by as many people as possible. I've had so many people tell me that my music has helped them out or helped them to achieve their own goals, so it means a lot to me to be able to affect someone's life like that."

Through hours, days, weeks, months and years of hard work and determination, my debut book, One Fan's Story: If This Hat Could Talk, and Veronica's debut CD, What I'm All About were released on the exact same day on August 28, 2009.

Since day one, Veronica has always been one of the most supportive people in my life, as I will always be for her. She is written about within the pages of my book (page 224), and I was flattered to find that she included me in her thank yous in her CD. She made the trip all the way from Nashville, to her home in Connecticut, then all the way to Saugus, MA just to be at my book signing. On Thursday night, she will be performing at Mohegan Sun, and you best bet that I'll be there, front row.

So, let this be a lesson to all of you with big dreams out there. The only person who can stop you from accomplishing your goals in life is yourself. If you believe that you can do something, anything is possible. There isn't anything in this world that you can't accomplish if you want it bad enough, and it's amazing what you can accomplish with the love and support of your family and friends.

Don't ever settle for less. Dare to dream.

-Jared Carrabis