Finding Your Passion

My last few blog posts have been about Camp Dream Street, a place that helped me figure out who I want to be and what I want to do with my life. The next topic I want to cover is this journey of figuring out who we are and how we want to spend the rest of our lives. My story is pretty unusual because I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to be by about age 6 and I knew for sure by age 19. I saw art therapy on “Full House,” one of my favorite shows as a child. I distinctly remember pointing to the TV and saying, “Mommy, what’s that? I want to do that when I grow up!” but neither of us knew what that therapeutic method was called. Through the years, I continued to have an interest in art and psychology, but I couldn’t figure out how to meld my two main interests.  I went through several career possibilities but eliminated each one for a variety of reasons. Singing was fun, but impractical, and unlikely to be a successful career. Teaching sounded rewarding, but I generally don’t like speaking in front of large groups if I can avoid it. Psychology or psychiatry was a good choice, but I knew I would miss my art. Graphic design, makeup art, costume design, and advertising all sounded fun and interesting, but were missing the social justice aspect that I was looking for. I prayed and prayed that God would show me who He wants me to be. During art class my sophomore year of high school, my teacher finally helped enlighten me by describing art therapy. That moment was life-changing. I finally found my passion (although being at Dream Street confirmed that art therapy truly is my passion). I did plenty of research to find out what I could expect to make, where jobs could be found, and what colleges offered art therapy as a major. That last bit of research wound up not mattering; I decided to double major in art and psychology so that I could attend Spring Hill College for undergrad, and wait until graduate school for actual art therapy. I’m only finished my freshman year of college, and I already can’t wait for grad school. I’m considering a few different schools, but I think I will probably wind up at FSU. I am so psyched about the art therapy curriculum at FSU! The classes all sound like so much fun! …You’re probably wondering why I’m babbling about my passion when this blog post is supposed to be about finding you’re passion, aren’t you? Well, there is a method to my madness, I promise! Work with me here! :)

My point in describing the process I went through to discover my passion was to show you that you won’t necessarily figure it out overnight. It took me nearly twenty years to realize exactly who God is calling me to be. I figured it out by examining what my favorite pastimes are, by doing research, by prayer, and by volunteer work that related to my career possibility. If you are unsure of what you want to do with your life, start by examining who you really are. A fabulous place to start is career quizzes, which use questions about your personality and favorite activities to match you to a career that fits you. I also used a little questionnaire from the book Writing to Change the World to help me figure out what I want. I will include the questions and my own answers at the end of my blog to show you how it works. I highly recommend this questionnaire; it also helped me figure out what I wanted my blog to be about when I first started it.

If you are struggling to figure out what college to apply to, what major(s) to choose, what job to aspire to, DON’T PANIC. Take a deep breath. Start by thinking about where your strongest interests lie. I’m not talking about things that you dabble in. I will never be a makeup artist because that isn’t where my strongest interest is. I like it, but it’s not my passion. Do you like art? Science? Math? English? Music? Thinking about subjects you like in school is a good place to start. Think about your hobbies. Think about whether you are introverted or extroverted. I love people, but I am most comfortable around small groups of people. That’s why I know teaching probably isn’t for me. If you have done volunteer work, think about the type you prefer. Do you like working with animals? People? If you want to work more with people, would you prefer children? The elderly? Somewhere in between? I prefer working with children and teens, so that’s why I chose a career that will allow me to work with age groups I prefer. Finding your passion may not be easy, but it is worth the search. When it finally clicked for me that I am supposed to be an art therapist, I felt absolute peace and joy. I know I am here for a purpose, and that drives me to work hard and to succeed.

One of my high school teachers once told us that when she got her job back after Katrina, she literally danced a jig. THAT is the kind of enthusiasm you should feel about your career, college, major, etc. If you don’t feel that, maybe you should explore other options. I know I’m in the right school because I actually can’t wait to go back. I know I’m heading in the right career path because I totally can’t wait to get started. If you haven’t found your passion yet, be patient. You’ll find it one day, and trust me, it’s worth the wait!
Here are Mary Pipher's questions from Writing to Change the World, and my responses*:

1.     What makes you laugh, cry, and open your heart?

There are so many things that make me laugh!  My family. My friends. Myself. My pets’ crazy antics or just silly animals in general. Children. Children’s movies and books. The “Hey Burrito” song at camp. Corny jokes. Funny facial expressions. Auto-Correct fails collected on various websites will make me laugh until I can barely breathe. What makes me cry is also a pretty long list. Books with a touching message. a particularly beautiful song, painting, or dance can make me cry with joy no matter how many times I read, hear, or see them. Injustice of any kind makes me cry with sadness. Bullying. Homophobia. Bigotry. Child abuse. Animal abuse. Mentally ill people who can’t or won’t receive treatment, and thus can’t reach their potential. What makes me open my heart is very simple: God, loving family, and supportive friends. I know I can pour out my heart to them without being judged.

2.    What points do you repeatedly make to those you love?

I am constantly reminding my family and friends how much I love them, and that I would do anything for them. I also remind them not to worry about me because I am strong, hard-working, and independent.

3.     What topics keep you up at night or help you fall asleep?

Things that keep me up at night include social justice issues such as gay rights, pro-life, bullying, etc. blog posts (I started writing this one at 3 a.m.) keep me up if they are about a topic I feel strongly about. Knowing that many people don’t have food, shelter, warm clothes, and a loving family keeps me up at night. A good book will also keep me up at night. I can fall asleep knowing that my family loves me, my friends support me, God is always with me and loves me more than I can comprehend, and I have a roof over my head, food in my stomach, and clothes on my back. I can fall asleep knowing that I am here for a purpose and that every day I need to work toward fulfilling that purpose.

4.    What do you know to be true?

I know that God is real, God loves me my family loves me. My friends love me. I was created with a purpose. my disability does not have to hold me back. Art is more than just a pretty picture or sculpture; it allows us to see into the mind and heart of the artist. Art and music can heal. I also know that injustice makes me sick and it is my responsibility to fight for justice.

5.     What do you consider to be evil? (my responses are not in order of most evil to least evil or vice versa. They are just in the order I thought of them.)

   Violence, greed, prejudice and racism, bullying, crime, abortion, homophobia, indifference to the suffering of others, etc. This question depresses me. I think I’ll move on.

6.     What is beautiful to you? (again, no particular order, just stuff that popped in my head) Hope. Love. Joy. Faith. God. Churches. Rosaries. The Eucharist. The Bible.  Sunsets. Sunrises. Butterflies. Flowers. Birds. Cats. Dogs. Dragonflies. My friends. My family. New Orleans. Charleston. Beaches. Mountains. Spring Hill. Cabrini. Paris. Architecture. Vintage cars.  Life. Peace. Justice. Rainbows. Art in any form- painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, architecture, books, plays, poetry, music, dance, etc. Makeup. Gemstones. Crystals. Pretty much anything colorful, sparkly, or polka-dotted. Hearts. Peace Signs. Smiley Faces. Bright colors. Art Deco. Ladybugs. Cats. Kittens.  Dogs. Puppies. Tigers, especially white tigers. Lions. Birds. Horses.

7.     What do you most respect in others?

Honesty, integrity, faith, hope, love, independence, courage, perseverance, positivity and standing up for one’s self and one’s beliefs.

8.     What excites your curiosity?

Social justice issues, science, art, music, enthusiastic teachers, sign language, makeup artistry, nature, photography, architecture, history (particularly the 1920’s, ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘60s), learning about my own religion, as well as the religion and culture of others, and dance (even though I don’t dance, I love watching dancers and learning about different styles of dance).

9.     If you were the ruler of the world, what would you do first?

I would have to do two things: make abortion illegal, and make gay marriage legal.

10.  What do you want to accomplish before you die?

A LOT! Here’s my bucket list:

a.     Travel for fun and for mission trips

b.     Become fluent in American Sign Language, French, and maybe Spanish

c.     Join or start a women’s wheelchair basketball team wherever I wind up living after grad school

d.     Get a master’s degree in art therapy and a Ph. D in psychology

e.     Get married

f.     Have and/or adopt kids

g.     Try wheelchair dancing

h.     Go to a Paul McCartney concert

i.      Raise awareness about spina bifida, and disability rights and access enough to make changes in my neighborhood, and hopefully more far-reaching changes.

j.      Learn to cook

k.    Try karaoke

l.      Learn how to play guitar (third time’s the charm.. I keep trying it and losing interest a few months later because it hurts my hands)

m.   Attempt to learn to play the violin

n.     Learn to hit the high note in “Defying Gravity” consistently. At the moment, it’s a total crap shoot. Sometimes I hit it perfectly, other times it’s AWFUL.

*Pipher, Mary. Writing to Change the World. S.l.: Riverhead , 2006., n.d. Print.