I don’t believe that we’re only allotted one passion. I believe that there are several places of fervor and joy that we can discover throughout our lives; places to stand in, places that set our bellies on fire. I believe your passions and talents are all already inside of you, waiting to be discovered, ready to burn wild for you. Standing in these places, these places of dynamic and thrilling passion, takes strength and courage. It takes a sense of self-determination and confidence that doesn’t dimmer easily and in the midst of all these passions is where you find your purpose; in a meaningful surgence of joy, passions, and talents, you find your calling.
Over the years I’ve uncovered many passions. I’ve discovered a skill of baking, a curiosity for nutrition, a love for fitness, a hand for sketching, and an eye for photography. I built this blog to create a space that all of those passions could be put to use. This blog allows me to mesh all of my passions together into an (almost) completely coherent piece of art. But if I had to choose a single passion, if I had to pick just one to keep forever, it would be writing. Every time. Over and over again. I would choose words. I would leave all the others behind and run forever with my commas and anaphoras. I love making people feel something through my writing. Making them smile or laugh or cry. I want to send each word and let it strike a chord within you, whichever chord it may be. I always want you to leave a piece of my writing feeling something. Writing is not only a passion of mine, I believe it’s a purpose.
When I first started blogging I was a curious Junior in college striking out into a public space of creativity for the first time. I knew that I loved writing, but didn’t really know how much yet. I had a vision for this blog, but didn’t have a solid style or voice. For 3 years, I stumbled in the blogging world trying to capture followers and views. I tried to create content that matched what other bloggers were creating, that strayed away from writing and leaned more towards fashion, beauty, and recipes. While I love all of those things, talking about them constantly became tiring over time. I felt like I was over-exerting myself trying to come up with content, trying to write words that didn’t mean anything to me.
The longer we spend building, creating, working, or hustling in an area that isn’t our purpose, the faster we become burnt out. The longer we spend living outside of our purpose, the more restless we feel. Your purpose is this sweet spot, this sweet spot where you can create and build and work and feel energized. Even when it’s tiring or scary, it’s still rewarding and exciting. Your purpose is soul-fueling even if you need time to rest, you can always come back to it and feel alive. Whether your sweet spot is teaching, is helping someone feel better, is designing buildings, is building websites, whatever it is for you, you know when you’re there and you crave to get back there when you’re not.
It wasn’t until last summer that I sat down and gave myself the freedom to make this blog exactly what I wanted and what I needed. I stopped trying to look like all the other bloggers I followed and decided to look like me. I wanted to focus on words and still have the freedom to post about skincare and wellness and travel when I felt like it. I wanted to use my photography to draw people to my writing. I wanted to keep writing as the star. You’ll notice that even when I write about skincare or travel I’m longwinded.
This shift was exciting but nerve-wracking. A lot of doubt and fear followed me into my purpose. Fear about whether or not people would like what I wrote. Doubts about my skill or if I had anything interesting to say. I let those doubts and fears cripple me and I stopped writing for a while. The longer I didn’t write the more paralyzed I felt, the more embarrassed I felt that I wasn’t writing.
Sometimes standing in our purpose is hard. I know you thought when I called it your sweet spot that it would always be sweet, but sometimes standing there is incommodious and unnerving. After months without posting here, I’ve felt unsettled and eager to start again. I’m learning (slowly) that scary doesn’t have to be a bad thing and that fear shouldn’t keep you from something you love.
You can’t look at the person next to you or the person in front of you. They are not standing in the same spot as you. Their purpose is completely different from yours. Even if it looks similar from the outside, everything about how you walk in your purpose is different from how they walk in theirs. Don’t stifle your skills or stunt your personal growth because you’re comparing yourself to someone else.
Your purpose might not line up with what is popular. It may be uncommon or unheard of, but if your heart is called to something, you owe it to your heart to chase it. You owe it to your soul to fuel it. You owe it to yourself to stand in it.
Love always,
