Passion as a driving fire*1
Some
describe it as intensity; others classify it as obsessive-compulsiveness; some
just label it as being anal; I call it passion. What is this elusive concept
that each of us is trying to define as it pertains to our lives, our futures,
our own pilgrimages? Simply, passion is defined as “any strong or powerful
feeling or emotion.”[1]
Passion is a driving force. It is that inextinguishable fire that burns from a
person’s core and radiates throughout every muscle, molecule, nerve; it is the
ambrosia that nourishes the soul and absolutely invigorates life. To me,
passion may or may not be tangible; it may be a dream, a hobby, or any act that
elicits a feeling of mind and
body liberation. Whatever it is, one’s passion liberates the
soul from the shackles that fetter it to the monotony of the mundane and
reinvigorates a person every time it is pursued. Once one’s passion is
discovered, it the reason a person wakes up every morning, the reason they
live, the cause they might die for.
In my case, perhaps I have not lived long enough, tasted
enough of life, or challenged my boundaries enough to discover what my ultimate
passion is in life. However, at this stage in my life, I have come to recognize
that I am naturally drawn to helping others. More specifically, I am driven by
any opportunity to make another human feel better, to uplift the spirits of
someone, to lift the weight that quells a spirit, or to just bring a smile to
another’s face. My passion is to help someone else through their problems, to
relate genuinely to another human being at a sympathetic level that connects
every human in the web of life. In the words of the Dalai Lama, “Our prime
purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least
don’t hurt them.”[2]
Dying man at SMS*2
When
I reflect upon my life, especially the past few years during my primary period
of maturing, I notice that many of the occasions in which I have been truly
happy have involved volunteering or somehow acting upon a societal injustice in
my own small way. Prior to my junior year in high school, I spent the summer of
2004 in
to underprivileged families in
During the same trip to
When I came to college
and explored the various organizations and available opportunities to pursue an
active role in the university and the community, the first club I joined, and
actually remained committed to, was the Student Volunteer Board. Through the
club’s resources, I learned about the Heart House After School Program. Every
Wednesday I volunteer at Heart House as a reading buddy and mentor to children
who live in low-income districts.
Jaquiese, my reading buddy, is a shy nine-year-old African
American girl who was quiet and introverted when we first met but quickly
warmed up to me as we became friends. One week, we were decorating reading
group posters with pictures of all of the students and their buddies. When I
asked Jaquiese where she wanted to put her picture, she glanced at it and
quickly slammed her photo face-down on the table. “I don’t want my picture on
the poster,” she whispered meekly, “I’m ugly.” Her words struck me, and I sat
there speechless as my mind jolted me back to my own feelings of childhood
inadequacy. Jaquiese’s negative self image troubled me for rest of the evening
and eventually my feelings of sadness turned to anger. Why should a beautiful
nine-year-old feel ugly? Moreover, why should anyone, regardless of age,
ethnicity, country of residence, or level of affluence feel self-doubt? This
child’s low self-esteem embodies yet another societal disparity and I feel that
women’s unrealistic image of beauty, which typifies society’s unrealistic
notion of perfection, must be modified in order to empower women. In the novel
The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison expresses this very same idea. Although
Morrison’s aim was specifically directed to giving a voice to oppressed African
American women in a time when racial boundaries starkly divided society, her
message is significant to all women of all generations and still rings true
today: true beauty shines through a person via self-acceptance and
self-respect, not physical appearances. This is the message I hope to spread to
young girls.[3]
Dove Campaign’s image for real beauty3
With
Jaquiese’s words as my impetus, my latest project involves women’s health and
the need to challenge the contemporary stereotypical view of beauty generated
by the media. My proposal involves reaching out to the next generation of women
(girls aged twelve to thirteen), by providing a positive role model and an
alternative voice to the manipulative, mendacious media. As a woman who has
struggled through the same insecurities as most young girls, I feel that it is
my duty to provide a positive role model for young, impressionable girls who
are susceptible to the media’s influence. Further, I hope to represent Dove’s
Campaign for Real Beauty by being a “catalyst for widening the definition and
discussion of beauty” in order to inhibit the seeds of self-doubt before they
are planted in children’s minds.[4] I
am currently working on a project that involves mentally and physically healthy
female college students visiting junior high schools in the
The common thread that weaves together
each of the above momentous occasions in my life is a desire to make a
difference, my “natural impulse [to] reach out to those who suffer, seeking to
ease their pain without concern for cost.”[5]
Whether it concerned the grand issue of world poverty, the education of one
child, or the insecurities of a young girl, an issue that I cared about
catalyzed me to take action. My passion
is to give others a chance at life, to alleviate pain, and to eliminate
inequities in a greater effort to make a difference in this world. Thus far, I
plan to make that difference throughout healthcare. But, whether or not I
continue on my current path to attend medical school and eventually become a
doctor, I sincerely hope that the fire that drives me to better mankind never
burns out.
However, even if I stray from the prescribed pre-medical path,
sometime last year I realized that it matters not what I do, as long as
I do it with passion. I will never be lackadaisical or apathetic about my life;
I will never settle for less than the best from myself. Thus, no matter where
life leads me, I will live it with fervor and I will be able to help people
compassionately. Perhaps, like followers of Jainism, if I learn to practice
Ahimsa and the subsequent “development of a mental
attitude in which hatred is replaced by love,” I will be able to “move the
whole world…and do undo things.”[6]
Perhaps, my purpose lies in discovering Ahimsa and myself. Nonetheless,
I know that I was put on the earth for a reason; one day, I will discover my
passion in life and I will use it as my inspiration to better mankind, society,
or even one person’s life. Every breath, taste, and touch of life that I
experience helps me to “know thyself” and further the journey to discover my
ultimate purpose in life. With this greater understanding of myself as the
first step to discovering how my purpose fits into the grand scheme of that
which is greater than the self, hopefully I will one day be able to better
understand, interact with, and serve others. As Ram Dass said, “As we reach a
deeper sense of who we are, we discover how much more we have to give.”[7] One day
I will reach a deeper sense of who I am. One day, I will realize how much I
have to give.
*7
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