On Passions

The discovery of a passion is truly a wonderful experience. Out of nowhere, your days are suddenly filled with learning about your interest. Seconds, minutes, hours slip by as you forget the clock and become immersed into a new world, and you enjoy every moment because you have finally found what gets you excited and eager to work. The best part of it all — you can have multiple passions as you discover and experience the world. In pursuing these passions you become more whole as your work finally has intrinsic meaning to you, and the time that you put into that work is, to you, well spent.

First, a little about my own passions

This year, I discovered a new passion that has influenced my decisions about my future greatly. I had already found my passion for science, specifically psychology, neuroscience, and its effects on the body as a whole, when I was young, which I understand is extremely lucky as many people struggle to find that first passion until they are far into their life. But just because I found that passion does not mean that it did not shift or change as the years went on and as I learned more about the options that exist out there for the sciences. A passion can be directed into new areas and expanded upon greatly, no matter what it is, as one area of inquiry can always lead to another. This year, I have refined and added on to that passion for science as I became interested in Eastern medicine and ways of thinking. That radical shift on how I thought about Western science has greatly influenced how I look at what I learn now. To me, every article, book, video, or any piece of information I consumed was fascinating. I knew that the time I spent on learning more about what I loved was time I valued. A passion should have value to you.

Now, back to that passion I had discovered this year. I took it upon myself to take an advanced Spanish class at my school, after taking three years of Spanish during which I learned next to nothing due to the traditional textbook fashion a school presents a new language in. I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I wanted to learn the language after I already put three years of my life into it. Before that year, learning a language was a struggle and took a backseat to all of the other things I had to learn at the time, never taking priority over the supposedly “more important” subjects I had. It was only when I was thrown into an environment where only Spanish was spoken to me in a class full of Spanish-speaking kids during which I had to do all my work in Spanish that I truly began to appreciate the value I was obtaining from that class. It was hard, but nothing made me happier than when, after two semesters of listening to Netflix shows in Spanish, my Spanish playlist, and reading the news every single day in Spanish, I was able to understand everything my teacher was saying to me and converse back with her. That sense of achievement has made me love the pursuit of learning languages and the linguistics behind them. Communication is the cornerstone of how humanity transmits its ideas from one brain to another, and learning how different languages work has made me appreciate how differing dialects of differing parts of the world have evolved in relation to each other to form what is spoken today. I have now begun to study French, a language that I have always wanted to learn due to how beautiful it sounds, and I find myself defaulting to learning French vocabulary or listening to French in its many forms whenever I get bored. Out of nowhere, a passion was formed where it did not exist before, just because I finally had a choice and the time to pursue it.

Finding a passion can be a fickle pursuit, especially when there is so much out there to learn as information is as accessible as ever. You may find yourself dabbling in many topics, taking random courses on websites that you may or may not enjoy, and putting time into things that may not result in a passion being developed. However, you never know if it will become your passion if you do not try it. So, take those random courses and try out those new things because you never know if it will click with you. It only becomes a waste of time when it starts hurting you rather than helping you, and it does not seem that learning something new that seems interesting to you can hurt you.

Another thing I have to mention is that sometimes, certain passions may be inaccessible to you at the moment. Take for example, traveling. I love to travel and experience different cultures and regions of the world, but I am unable to do so on my own since I am too young to do so practically. However, that does not stop me from reading about these other cultures and considering what options there are out there once I am old enough to travel. I have also been lucky enough to venture outside of America with my parents multiple times, fostering my love of traveling. But just because I am unable to do it yet, does not mean I should give up on it. It is the same reason many people also want to go to college — not just to find their passion, but also to have the means to access it and develop it through abundant resources. Everyone wants to be able to pursue what they want to do and what makes them feel good; it is just a matter of getting around the obstacles that prevent one from achieving what they want. Just like anything that is worth having, a true passion requires dedication and time to cultivate.

The pursuit of a passion is a goal many kids are trying to work through today. When there are so many options available to you with no one to guide you towards finding what you want, it becomes hard to find something that resonates with you personally. Having a passion is an amazing experience, but part of that experience is finding it in the first place. It is important to enjoy yourself everytime you explore something new, even if it is completely unrelated to what you have known before. There is the passion and the pursuit, and each one deserves its own praise. I would not have been able to find a passion for languages had I not pursued a class everyone told me was going to be extremely hard. It took me years for that passion to hit me, yet hit me it did, and I am all the better for it. Along the way, I have learned that it takes work to find something you love, and that the time you spend doing that work should be valued and appreciated.

Whether you are 10 or 50 years old, continue to grow and develop new passions. With every day, there are ample new things to be discovered for a willing, curious mind. Even if you are not the best at it, if it gives you happiness, then keep at it. Who is there to say what makes you happy or not? — only you can truly know that. At the end of the day, your passion might become what others seek, and you will find a niche for yourself in the world where people look for your expertise while you continue to do what you love. In this new digital age where you can get across the world in less than a day, anything can be possible. And, in all the things that you do, stay passionate with a drive to learn and expand yourself to better understand the world and people around you, along with yourself.