Coming Out of My Shell

What am I passionate about? My professor Gary Kayye raised this question in class and I found myself without an answer. It's not often that students my age are asked to consider their passions.

Passions are great, as long as they don't interfere with a respectable future. What career will bring in the highest salary? The answers to life have become multiple choice: doctor, lawyer, accountant. I have felt, as have many others, that in order to be happy I must choose a career based on its ability to get me stuff. I don't remember a time when money was not the focus of my academic career. 

In elementary school we are told to dream big because we have the power to claim our lives as our own. In middle school we are encouraged to choose practical careers, and we begin to section off our passions into extra-curricular activities. In high school we must lighten our load and study for standardized tests which will be used to define us for the rest of our academic careers. Our passions become fewer and our energy lessens. Finally, we enter college or the work force and must forget about passion. We forget about what makes us happy. I forgot. 

I am fiercely devoted to storytelling. How can we keep our ancestors stories alive? How can we create new stories? These questions drive my decisions every single day. Libraries are my favorite place because I am surrounded by human history personified. Every page has a power imbued to it by its creator. I believe it is our responsibility as human beings to record--and remember--as much as possible. We do this through writing and reading. 

Novels in a NutShell is a project I hope continues long past my spring semester. I hope to inspire others to get out of their comfort zone by reading and writing. Why not read something that challenges you to think in a different way? Have you always loved writing poetry? Share your masterpieces with the world! I want to share my love of literature with every person I meet and this is just one way I can do that. 

This blog is an attempt to reclaim my passion. Yes, I am required to complete these posts as a part of a course. However, I have never been more content to work on an assignment.