When asked the question, “what are your passions?” or “what are you passionate about?”, I find myself stumbling over my words trying to form a coherent answer. I stumble not because I lack having any passions but because I find myself thriving off of a number of different ones. I have narrowed down my list on numerous occasions at times when I had to decide a potential career or job opportunity and at times when I was simply asked the questions above and was only given the option of answering with one thing. After reading Lynsey Addario’s It’s What I Do, I realized that I had been going about these questions all wrong.

“I am alive and I am me” when I am involving myself in music and when I am helping people, and there are very few other passions of mine that come close to making me feel the way I do when I am discussing, encouraging, and living through those passions. These are my sources of happiness, so here are two of my potential blog topics:

Towards the end of my elementary school career, I was offered the opportunity to join our district’s music program playing both the violin and clarinet. I did not know how influential music would be in my life today. I believe learning how to play the numerous instruments that I have picked up over the years has given me the ability to understand and connect with musicians within the industry. My passion lies within the ability to play instruments and the ability to follow the many musicians before me. I could talk all day about my experiences within music, but I would like to focus more on the reason why I have continued to stick with music over the years: my inspirations. I would like to dedicate my blog to all of the bands and musicians who have inspired me to stick with music and enjoy the other aspects of my life. By giving some context to the band/ musician (e.g. their background, origin, etc.), information on their music, etc., I believe that my blog would serve as a source for music recommendations when you as an individual are feeling down or need some positivism in your life, because I know that these bands/ musicians have helped to shape the person I am today.

Another passion that goes neck and neck with my passion for music is my ability to help people, especially those younger than me. My eleven-year-old sister is lacking a role model as of now since I have left home to study here, so I thought that I would focus my blog on the advice that I would be giving her if I were to be home with her. My family has played a significant role in my life (they are my family after all), so I decided to combine my love for my family and helping people and focus on the one individual that I believe deserves to have a place to find help when she needs it: my sister. I would like to share motivation and experiences while also providing information to make her and those individuals aware of what is going on in the world that we are all living in. I believe that stepping out of your comfort zone is a crucial part of growing, so I would like to share my own experiences, tips and tricks, and advice with my sister and my audience to help them step out of their own comfort zones. The theme of the blog would essentially revolve around the idea of helping her and other individuals with certain aspects of their lives and if not helping, then directing her and those individuals to a source that can. I have taught workshops on topics such as public-speaking and confidence building, so I believe that I can provide my sister and the individuals visiting my blog enough information to at least think about stepping out of their comfort zone and attempting what they came to my blog to learn how to do.

Side note:

I am very open to either idea and am very thrilled to be given the opportunity to blog in class, so please let me know which idea you would like to read about more! I am open to all questions, comments, and concerns that you might have.