I watched my youngest daughter pack up for her senior year of college last week. She had just gotten back from a summer abroad, doing things that I have only imagined. If all goes well she will graduate this year with a degree in religion, with minors in math and computers. It is a liberal arts dream education.

During her education process she’s had the chance to meet with people from around the world. She has traveled to China and Europe and has wetted her appetite for more. She has been exposed to many of the world’s great religions and the cultures they represent. She is on track to learn tolerance with a path based on knowledge and dreams.

Like her three sisters, she has set her own course with an internal bearing only she could acknowledge. Each of my daughters chose her own type of school: The eldest graduated from a Jesuit College. The second got her degree from a small state teachers college. My third daughter graduated from a private music school specializing in client management. My youngest is completing her degree at a private Lutheran college in the Midwest.

I am not a financially wealthy man, but I am rich in dreams. I dreamed I would have a family that would make a difference. That each of my children would be able to find a mission to undertake and appreciate the joys and sorrows that come with that choice. I hope that when they accept their mission they are mindful that others have their own passions too, and not obstruct others in their journey.

Last week when my daughter left for school, I realized that she was short of cash. Instead of writing her a check, I went into my bedroom and came out with my change jar that I’d been adding too for a number of years. I gave it to my daughter and told her to take it to the bank and use it for school. She didn’t want to accept it. She said to me, “Dad, I know that is your dream jar, and I know that you’ve been saving up for something special.” I just told her to “take it and use it for school”.

As she drove off to her final year of college, I realized that my dreams were already coming true.