Delgado 1

Maria Delgado

FS301 Explore UT

PAR 104

 

 

            IÕm not sure if I have a specific passion right now, but I know that when I was younger I was very passionate about sports. When I was in elementary school, especially, I loved to play—basketball, jump rope, kickball, and just usual kidsÕ games. Now, though, through my own fault, I am not very active anymore. Instead I am passionate about books and serving my community but have come to realize that all three of my passions connect with each other because they allow me to view and interact with others while also having the opportunity to help them and seeing things in a new light.

            When I was younger I felt like a kid with nothing to worry about and no major decisions to make. I wish that now I could be as passionate about basketball as I was in grade school. I wish that I could have that same sense of freedom and happiness that I felt then and not be overwhelmed with all the stress and decisions that come with becoming an adult. I had no idea that I would be faced with so many choices and responsibilities, like where to go to college and what to do for the rest of my life, but basketball, along with reading and community service, helped me explore my future plans and see things outside my own shell while interacting with people who were completely different than me.

 

           

 

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Basketball was my major passion when I was a child, not only because of the sport itself but because it allowed me to explore new feelings I didnÕt know I had. I wasnÕt the greatest player in the world but I believed I was. I would play basketball and would just get lost in the game and forget everything else around me. Basketball was all I could think about and I would take any opportunity I could to play, wherever and with anybody that was willing to play with me. I would play during recess, at home, at friendsÕ houses, at relativesÕ houses, and in my neighborhood. Basketball identified me and represented who I was to everyone around me. I loved the game and it provided me with everything that I searched for at a young age.

            My passion for basketball extended into the professional leagues like the NBA and the WNBA. I idolized players like Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, Hakeem Alojouwan, Tina Thompson, Kim Perott, and others.  These professional basketball players were my heroes because they were able to do for a living what I did as a hobby. These athletes were living the dreams I had and wished that I could someday accomplish. These professional players were my role models and I identified myself with them, even though somewhere inside of me I knew that I was nothing like them. It was nice to have, as a child, role models like these to look up to because it just motivated me to do my best.

            For me, at that age, basketball was an escape from the real world. Basketball was my reality and it seemed that nothing could pull me away from my infatuation with the sport. Although I was only a child, I could feel the energy I had and the intensity at which I played. I did not know if I was going to play basketball forever, but at the time I felt like

 

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it was very possible. I did not think about anything other than basketball and the adrenaline that I felt every time I was on the court with that ball in my hand.

I miss the sense of release that I had from playing because now I donÕt play or even watch the game. I felt respected and part of a team and under the impression that I was invincible and unstoppable, which as a kid, was the greatest feeling in the world. Maybe basketball wasnÕt what I was meant to do in life but I hoped back then that I could have been a professional basketball player to feel that sense of freedom I loved as a child. The sense of release and self-involvement that basketball gave me in grade school seemed to have followed me to my next passion which allowed me to go outside myself and become involved in novels and literary works of art.

            As I have gotten older I have begun to discover some new passions. I have a strong passion for reading books of all sorts. If a book is interesting I can spend hours and hours reading it without putting it down. I can take a book and just read it over and over because I want to understand everything about it and remember every single thing that happened within it. Whenever I have some free time I sit in my room and read for hours without caring about what is going on around me. Reading wraps me up in the fictional world and makes me feel part of the story.  When I love a book I have to read it multiple times just to be able to have the same feeling I had when I first read it, which is how I felt about a book I read in 7th grade ÒOne Hundred Years of SolitudeÓ by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This particular book captured me from the moment I read it and since then have always read at least three or four times a year. Reading gives me a feeling of serenity that I canÕt describe or put into words. I feel peace that I canÕt otherwise feel. Books are an

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escape from the real world and all of the problems that live in it. Nothing can keep me away from books or stop me from reading.

            I have such a strong passion for books because as I read I feel like my self and I feel that nobody judges me. Books inform and entertain me while also being that get-a-way that I need to block out troubles. My passion for reading takes me to places I have not been before and only dreamed of going.  The fictional world offers many new things to me while also being reliable and handy when I want a break from the present and all of my troubles. Books are my way of life and a sort of guide and insight to what I want to do with my life in the future. Books are another world for me where I can just let go and explore my imagination. My passion for reading lets me see a side of me that I did not know was there. I can be someone completely different from what I am and not worry about what others have to say. I guess I can say that I read to feel free and to feel like I belong somewhere and to be a part of something meaningful. The feeling that I have to belong is what helped me become involved in my next passion because I am a part of something big and something that makes a difference.

            I have grown into a mature and responsible person but still have a passion which drives me. Although reading is still a passion, I have another, more fulfilling passion now. I enjoy performing community service. Community service is just an opportunity for me to give back to the community which, in my perspective, has provided me with a lot. Performing community service has made me grown as a person and discover what I can and canÕt handle. Helping my community gives me a sense of accomplishment and pride that makes me feel like a better person. I also feel like my purpose is being

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accomplished and that I am having the ability to increase my knowledge of life and of my purpose here.

When I was in high school I would jump at any chance I had to sign up for any kind of service hours I could. I helped at the annual Thanksgiving feast for the underprivileged and the Christmas party for the special education students in my district. I raised money for cystic fibrosis and lupus research and volunteered at a local nursing home. All of these activities not only helped me grow but they also gave me a sense of appreciation for the life that I lived and what I took for granted. Seeing all of the people whom I helped and seeing how grateful they were towards the generosity and kindness of strangers. The people that I helped gave me a sense of humility which over time has grown into something beyond my belief because it has let me learn from myself, my capabilities, the generosity of others, and of the need that a lot people need.

            At this point in my life, community service has become a great part of my life, which is why I consider it to be my passion. Basketball was my passion in the past,

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reading my present passion and community service is my long-lasting passion. My passion has transformed over time and has matured as I have. These different passions

have helped me grow as a person and have made me realize that there is more in the world than the little community in which I live. I have realized that my passions taught me more than I gave them credit for. From basketball I learned how to be part of a team and how to work with others. Reading made me realize that I can identify myself with the fictional world and analyze different ideas and perspectives. As for community service I have to say that I am still learning and will keep learning about how I can interact with other people. My passions have all made me the person I am and have made me feel a sense of happiness and accomplishment that I donÕt think I would have otherwise felt. My passions describe me as a person and the person that I want to become. My passions are a great part of my life because they describe me and the person that I was at different point and ages of my life.                                                                                                 

            All of my past, present, and long-time passions connect because they have all helped me at different points of my life. I have learned something from all of them and they have all helped me express myself. I think that these passions have prepared me for what is ahead in my life. Since I want to become an attorney, I think that my past enthusiasm with basketball will allow me to be committed to my career just as I was devoted to basketball when I was younger. My passion for reading will help me become analytical of everything, especially in the legal profession which thrives by having the kinds of ability to analyze and study things in bits and pieces. Community service has definitely helped me have a sense of leadership and motivation for helping people that I

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would have otherwise never had. For me, becoming an attorney is extremely important because I am thinking about my future and how I will benefit from this certain career.

All of my passions have helped me developed communication, team work, and analytical skills, which I donÕt otherwise think I would have accomplished.

            Through all of these passions, I think that I have learned a lot meanwhile growing as a person. Even though these passions were at different episodes of my life I think they were helpful to me in providing me with insight for my future and how I would overcome the obstacles that would I would face later in life. My future plans to become an attorney will be most definitely presented with many difficulties but I have to remember that I can overcome anything and that I prepared well for these cases. I canÕt give up and I canÕt let anyone put me down because that would just make everything that I have gone through be pointless and insignificant. My passions, all combined, have made me who I am and have helped me built skills that I need to be successful. I have learned a great deal and I know that without all of my experiences I would not be able to pursue my goals. At this point in my life, I donÕt think I can fail. Everything is here for me and I know that if I take advantage of it I can do anything I want.

 

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