Recently, my friend and I were talking about how amazed we were with some of the items in the world. For example, my friend was amazed by the complexity of computers and iPods, while I declared my awe of the International Space Station and how crazy it is to me that there are currently people up in it. What was at the root of this amazement was the fact that all of these items were made by people. I realize that most things in the world are created by the human race, but still, on occasion, I pause and think about how cool it is that people not only have the capabilities to make these items, but also the passion that had to go into creating them.
To me, passion is one of the most amazing qualities that people can have. People who are passionate about what they do touch people lives and many times make those lives better. Passion moves the human race forward and enriches life. For example, without Gutenberg's passion for creating a printing press, we may not have the widespread availability of books that we have now. Without the passion to have a better life, all revolutions would have not have taken place. Without passion for one's country, we would not have people who willingly defend our country. Without the passion for exploration, I may not be living in the United States right now or there may not be a satellite currently orbiting the Earth. Without passion, women and other minority groups may not be able to vote. Without passion, the mortality rates for cancer may be much higher and we may not have vaccines for small pox or polio. I think it is easy to say, that without passion, the world would be a much worse place.
Because being passionate does so much good, I think that it especially important that everyone has one, be it a big one or a small one. While we know that passion can be misguided from time to time (history is full of stories like this), as long as your passion doesn't hurt anyone, then your okay. In the end, not only does passion do good for others, it does good for yourself too. Following your passion makes you happy. For example, in English class one day, we watched a documentary on a ventriloquist who was questioning staying with the career she had, because she didn't know if she was still passionate about it anymore. After a trip to the US for a ventriloquist convention, she realized that she still was passionate about ventriloquism, that it made her so happy, and that she couldn't imagine her life without it. After we finished watching that documentary, the professor told us that college can be a confusing time, because it seems that you have to figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life quickly and that can be difficult. But, he said, if you can find something that makes you passionate, and you do that with your life, then you can never go wrong.
Although I am not sure what I am passionate about at this moment, I hope that someday in the near future, I will be sure of it and that I will wake up one morning and I’ll just know what I am supposed to do with my life, be it writing or politics or something totally different. Until then, I will continue to search for what I am passionate about, because a life without some kind of passion is not completely lived. If you haven't found your passion yet, I hope that you search for it too. I also hope that you too wake up one morning and just know what you are supposed to do with your life, and because of that, you feel that your life is a little more whole.
