"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself" - George Bernard Shaw

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

There are 'Firsts' for Everything

It's been hard trying to discover what I'm truly passionate for and who I am. This post may sound cheesy and amateur-like, but ever since I could walk and make conversation I've tried a lot of both the stereotypical activities that are supposedly interesting to girls, to other different things.

Soccer, tap dancing, tennis, ballet, basketball, softball (which was a tug of war within myself whether I loved it enough to keep playing it or not) , track, and the piano fall under the most common things that I've tried in my life. Not that I'm saying these are 'uncool' because they are common, and to be honest I'm a little jealous of the people who have the talent to do these things.

The more unusual things were violin, archery, horse back riding, and the drums, which I probably annoyed my parents with my indecisiveness by making them get lessons for me and then me deciding to quit because that spark was not quite there.

Then, one afternoon during the end of the summer, my mom showed me the sign up sheet for electives to take next year in the 9th grade.

Softball in my head was a definite maybe, but I took it anyways because I didn't know of anything else to fall back on and fill in the gaps of the schedule.

German Pre-Ap 1 was chosen through a smile trying to please my parents that covered up my reluctance. That battle was lost long ago and was an attempt for me to take French instead even though my dad's 100% German and I could visit my brother there.

Then my mother mentioned Journalism and tried to shine a light on my writing talent that I was still new to by pulling the "I-read-that-story-you-wrote-for-8th-grade-that-you-got-a-one hundred-and-ten-on" card. To be honest, I always thought of Journalism as boring and stressful because you had to write a lot and writing for fun besides school work seemed like torture.

Nevertheless I checked the box to try something new with a whim, supported by my parents, scared of the outcome, and almost certain I would quit with a feeling of guilt, just like everything else I have done in my life. But this time, I didn't feel that my instrument or horse was a burden, or dread running up and down and around a field. I fell in love with sitting down anywhere, with either a paper and pen or a computer, and putting my thoughts into an entertaining, interesting or informative form of writing for everyone or even one person to read. I love that journalists can change someones opinion or inform them through what they have experienced or heard, and that after the reader closes his or her laptop and puts down the magazine or newspaper, that writing has impacted them one way or another.

This is why I decided to make this experimental, fun blog to keep writing about another thing I'm good at but isn't necessarily a talent: finding alternative/indie music before it either hits the mainstream or that I can share with others or just keep to myself.

Everyone has a passion for something, it just takes a little discovering and courage to try and succeed or try and move on to something better.

It's only quitting if you know you have found it but lack effort to keep going, and it's only success if you are pushed to your limits but are still infatuated with what you do and breakthrough those obstacles because there is nothing else you would rather accomplish and persevere in.



1 comment:

  1. Excellent idea, Lisa. Josh can probably turn you onto some very interesting stuff.

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