This story is dedicated to everyone who dares to dream.

There I was, in prehistoric times! I was looking for fossils when I came upon a dark, giant cave...

I went to see what was there, and then all of sudden...

A huge dinosaur leapt out at me!

Even though I was really scared, I thought it would be nice to wave and say hello!

I didn't realize that I said "hello" out loud! The kids in class all turned to stare. I thought I was whispering, but I guess I wasn't quiet enough. Let me introduce myself.

My name is Ashlyn Einstein. I daydream...a lot. When I do, I start talking out loud without realizing it.

Sometimes my mom catches me and asks who I'm talking to. I just say that I wasn't talking to anyone.

I get really embarrassed. I try to stop myself, but it seems like the harder I try to stop, the more often I do it.

When I was in math class, I started daydreaming the dinosaur dream. I can never conceal my "hello!"

That's when the other kids started staring at me and asking each other, "Who is she saying 'hello' to?" They started giggling and saying that they normally don't see people talking to "no one".

I felt embarrassed, hurt and ashamed that I was talking to myself in public.

After I went home and had dinner that night, I rushed upstairs to my bedroom. I was so upset that I didn't even want chocolate cake for dessert!

I started crying. Crying about how I thought I wasn't "normal". Crying about if the kids would ever like me. Crying about if I would always talk to myself and be embarrassed about it.

I heard a knock on my door. It was my mom. I quickly wiped my eyes so that she couldn't see I was crying.

"Ashlyn," said mom. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'm fine."

"Is something wrong? You ran upstairs right after dinner."

I knew I had to say something.

"Mommy, is talking to yourself and daydreaming normal?"

"What do you mean normal?"

"I talk to myself in public at school and the kids don't think it's normal. Do I have a problem?"

“Don’t worry about what the other kids think.  You have a fantastical mind, that's all!"

"Fantastical?" I asked. "What's fantastical?"

"You know, beyond fantastic! Did you know that the famous scientist Albert Einstein was a daydreamer too?"

"No way!" I exclaimed

"It's true!" explained mom. "Einstein is believed to have developed his Theory of Relativity while he was daydreaming. Ashlyn, other people's opinions don't matter. What really matters is that you are a very smart and creative girl."

“Well, it still bothers me.”

“Maybe writing out your daydreams and turning them into stories will help.”

Honestly, I felt a bit better.  I decided to follow her advice and turn my daydreams into stories.  This was gonna be fun... or so I hoped.