As kids, we had all the freedom to answer this question; “What do you want to be when you grow up?” From doctors to race car drivers, nothing stopped us from imagining what we want to be. With dreams running wild, we grow and discover interests that’ll make us into who we are. However, when Senior High School rushes towards us, we now need to start turning that dream into a reality; often running to passion for answers.
Earlier this year, a sudden realization came to me that in just a matter of a few months, I would need to choose a strand. I’ve always pushed that thought aside as I tend to worry about what’s to come and decided to focus on grade 10 and the school years before that.
I would say that I am not the type of person who has a specific set of hobbies. One year, I would be so into playing volleyball and another, into making clay sculptures. The list goes on and among them, it’s really hard to determine what I want.
Everything seems to fast forward when you need to make that big decision. I thought and researched about different careers day and night to help me narrow down my strand choices. I tried to make sure that it was my passion and I would love it for a lifetime.
I started by listing things that I want to do in my dream job; exercise leadership and creativity skills and help Mother Nature to name a few. I then thought of possible choices and pondered upon them to make sure that it is my passion. I needed to ensure that I wanted it that much to pursue it was the most challenging part. In the end, I kept on repeating the “making sure” process with different careers; graphic design, architecture, business and more.
With the results, I was disheartened and turned to self-help videos on Youtube. Things became more complicated until I found this TEDx talk - “Stop searching for your passion”.
In that video, Terri Trespicio, a writer, speaker and brand advisor said that “Passion is not a plan, it’s a feeling and feelings change.” Passion is actually “a strong feeling or emotion” as defined by Merriam-Webster. Most of the time, we don’t accept its true meaning and instead, follow along with society’s version. With the wrong definition in mind, we often think of passion as something that is a part of us that will stick around forever.
I used to see myself as a boring person without a “permanent” hobby. You would see others who have things that they love a lot. I thought that I just needed to find my missing piece. I tried a bunch of activities and none of them lasted. It felt like a waste of effort and that something was wrong with me.
Our focus is so fixed on finding our passions that we don’t notice what’s right in front of us. As Trespicio’s mother said, “You don’t create your life first then live it, you create it by living it not agonizing about it”. Our minds are way ahead of us, that we feel stuck in our current situation. By living in our present, we’ll be able to realize the huge opportunities we can grab from those.
Trespecio herself was looking for an extra job when she was invited to a jewelry party, where jewelry is sold at fairs and festivals. While enjoying herself, a thought came to her that being a salesperson might be fun. “I had no background in sales, I was terrible and I had no passion for jewelry,” she said.
Encountered with drawbacks, she still tried and became a design representative. At first, she was really “awkward and afraid of selling” and then she became better at it. She began to earn more and passion gradually entered her life. She said that she became passionate about it because people were happy to buy them.
Great things come in very unexpected ways. If we wait for passion to arrive, we’ll be waiting for a long time. Either way, we’ll never know what will happen in the next few years or even in the next few days. So, while waiting for it to “come”, why not do something that will benefit others?
Just like from the speaker’s experience, if there is a demand for it, success will most likely be in your way. From there, your passion will start to grow and thrive. “Success fueled passion more than passion fueled success,” she quoted Scott Adams.
As for me, I’ll be focusing on my studies in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Strand. Let’s see what happens!
“Passion is not a job, a sport, or a hobby, it is the full force of your attention, and energy that you give to what is in front of you.”
by Jasmine Ngo (Silent Steps)