'Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it'
Julia Child
Today, I'm going to ask you something you may be able to answer very easily, or that you may have some trouble answering- reactions to it usually seem to be one or the other. What is your passion in life? Or passions? What hobbies do you have that you can become so absorbed in, that time can pass by, and before you know it you've lost two or three hours doing this thing? Something you can talk about for eons? Not something you feel you should do, and then call a passion. Something you really and truly can lose yourself in for hours. Perhaps you are passionate about different things on varying levels. I would say I'm passionate about yoga, but not on the same level that I'm passionate about writing. Thinking about my passions, I concluded that some which came to mind immediately were...
Writing (blogging, poetry, short stories...this has been a passion for as long as I can remember. Since I could actually hold a pen, I have loved it)
Cooking (I love making up new recipes and experimenting in the kitchen. I love buying cookbooks, and then blatantly ignoring them, and concocting something completely new)
Reading (same as with writing; loved it ever since I can remember)
Rock climbing, yoga, walking...(there are a range of physical activities that I am passionate about, but I also don't want to lose all of my time to them)
Learning (Why else would I go to university? I'm one of those people who craves knowledge, and also the girl who actually enjoys lectures. Fortunately, a lot of people also share this passion when you're at university)
Then, more recently, I have realised that I have some additional passions. And this is where remaining interested in your passions comes into play...
Drawing (I used to spend hours drawing. I took GCSE art and design, and would come home covered in paint, chalk, coal...it was a good thing my uniform was black, or my mum would have seriously flipped out)
Women's rights (yes, that's right, I'm a feminist. I have always defined myself as a feminist, but recently have gotten into reading more feminist criticism, sparked by studying the Victorian era and attitudes towards women way back when. These attitudes can have parallels drawn with today, sadly. If you don't believe me: check out WR Greg's Prostitution, and Naomi Woolf's The Beauty Myth. It's an area I'm considering looking into more during my Independent Research Project, and so need to be passionate about)
So, the women's rights is a fairly newly developed passion. But the drawing? That was something I was passionate about a long time ago- and once I no longer needed to do it to ensure I got the desired grade, I stopped doing it. It was a passion I was hugely invested in, having been encouraged to be creative all my life (although I think my parents secretly hoped I would take a medial degree, because I also loved science)- but that I did not ensure I stayed tremendously interested in. This past week I have gotten back into being creative with a pencil and pens, and can't even describe how much I've missed it.
Okay, now go back to your list of passions. Reach far back into your mind, past all of the cobwebs, and try to remember three or more things you used to be passionate about. Is it possible you could still enjoy them? If it is, then this week try and give at least one of them a go. You never know, it may just be something you've missed without even realizing what was missing...
Labels: hobbies, inspiration, inspiring quotes, Monday, passion, quote, Quotespirational, Quotespirational Monday