It always amuses me what can get people talking.
About a week ago when I was struggling to get my work done amidst screaming children, continued interruptions, general miscommunications and no KISS (yet), I got texting a friend about my writing and lo and behold, I got into the writing zone. I’m guessing said friend was bored to tears with my ramblings about word counts and sentence structure but he was kind enough to feign interest (I’ll have to remember that when the airplanes come up).
Journalism is VERY exciting to me. Granted proper sentence structure and readability isn’t very interesting to those not in journalism, but I could talk about it for hours. Fortunately I have many friends from college who share my love of the written word. When I finally finished, I couldn’t help but laugh at how explaining what I was doing helped me refocus my efforts on my writing.
The next day I was talking to a different friend about her goals. She got talking about her interior design and started talking about how passionate her drafting class and architecture made her. She spent 20 minutes talking about the programs she used and her various projects and such and she was so happy.
All of my friends are very passionate about some occupation. Whether it be aviation, drafting, physical fitness, cooking or photography, there is somethign that drives them. Even if the subject matter is boring as Hell to you, one has to appreciate the passion that comes behind the subject matter. The childlike excitement that comes from a new project, idea or even a tidbit in the media about said subject matter, the confidence that comes from discussing a subject they love is something you can’t help but enjoy. It’s always nice to hear people “get into” something, even if it’s not your cup of tea.
Personally, I can’t imagine living my life without having many things to be passionate about. I love my children and my role as their mom, it’s the most engaging and rewarding experience and I brag about all of the little things they do and learn. I love journalism. I love creating something that people will read and enjoy, or that they will learn something from and then talk about it around the water cooler. There is nothing more awesome than seeing your name on a by-line. I love cooking. I love to create food and the satisfaction that comes from making something that makes people happy.
I guess the key to life is to find the thing or things that make you passionate and develop them. This helps you retain your identity but helps give you a general satisfaction from doing what you love. It’s not about making money at it or getting Facebook likes or whatever. It’s about doing something that you love because you love it.
The Misadventures of MHC 