Be passionate.

If there is one thing I have learned over the past week, it is that I need to be passionate in both my writing and multimedia story telling. Passion is the driving force that will allow me to strive for greatness in my work. 

Passion has already been a theme throughout my blog posts.

"The world is a book; he who stays at home reads only one page."
-St. Augustine

This quote resonates with me, and I can't help but to use it as a model for work. If the world is a book, I want to read every single page of it so I can help the man sitting at home realize what he is missing. I need to consider this man, too. He lacks the passion behind traveling, because if he was passionate, he would be seeing the world. I think travelers are not only driven by adventure and vacation, but by a passion to see the world and experience new things.

The traditions that have been upheld in Jessup throughout the years only shows the dedication by the people who live there to keep their culture alive for future generations.

I attribute my passion to having the pleasure of growing up in a community so steeped in tradition and culture that their town is dedicated to an Italian saint. Jessup is just one example of how an entire community shows great passion about their heritage and holding celebrations that mirror those over in Italy. Growing up near Jessup, I was exposed to the want to connect with my heritage on a much deeper level, driving me to travel, especially to Ireland.

The trees in the woods danced in the wind, their leaves trying to break free of the branches. 

If you look at nature long enough, and really start to appreciate it, you can see a different type of force behind it. This day in particular, I watched the wind blow trees to and fro. But it wasn't just wind, as I have put it above, the leaves wanted to break free! The wind caused this beautifully artistic thing to happen and instead of just seeing wind, I saw a dance. In this dance, I saw passionate leaves trying desperately to break free and see the world around them. They wanted life outside of the tree. And if we are being honest, aren't we all leaves?

I feel my foot accelerating toward a Great Perhaps.

We are all seeking a Great Perhaps, and my favorite author taught me that at the ripe age of 15. There is something so romantic about finding your purpose in life. Part of that journey is to take risks and try on different hats along the way. Eventually, you will find yourself on the right path, heading toward your G.P. So, how does this fit in? Because the thing driving you, even if you don't know it at the time, is passion. We are all just trying to find our way and we do that by pursuing things we care about or make wonderful contributions to. This journey may be long and could lead us to countless foreign countries, but no one ever said that was a bad thing.

SO,
What's the big takeaway? Be passionate. It doesn't matter if you want to be a writer or an accountant, you still need the drive necessary to be great in your field. And enjoy the journey along the way.