a collection of photographs and stories about passion.
To everyone following my posts, you know that I talk a lot about passion. I’m really passionate about photography and making films. I have given up a lot to pursue this passion. Let me share with you my story. I was about to graduate high school then and discussions about what course to take started coming in. I don’t have any idea that time what I want to do in life. Some are suggesting to base my decision on my favorite subjects or on which subject do I have the highest grade. That didn’t work for me. I can’t find a subject I’m really good at. My grades are basically on the same level. An easier advice I received was to follow the career path of my parents or siblings. Two members of our family took up Engineering so that’s what I wrote when we were taking admission tests from different universities. I felt that time that I have nothing to worry about anymore. At least I had one choice in mind.
Accountancy entered the scene when a family friend told me success stories of accountants. Now I have two courses in mind. The day to finally make that decision came. I needed to choose. It’ll be a life changing decision. During the enrolment, it took me a while before writing down my preferred degree. The staff noticed my hesitation and asked me which courses am I choosing from. He then gave an advice that totally changed everything. “Why not take up Chemical Engineering?” he said. He was explaining to me that I can always shift after my first year if I change my mind. Chemical Engineering sounds badass so I took his advice and signed up. I was in hell for almost five years. Shifting was an option every end of the semester but I can’t leave my friends and I still don’t know what really is the degree for me. I started failing my subjects and that gave me the opportunity to have a long break and carefully think about the path that I should take.
Things changed when I took a photography class during that summer break. My mom loves taking photos. We have one huge cabinet in our house that contains all of her photographs. I believe this passion of mine was all my mom’s influence. I saw her really happy whenever the photographs get developed. I remember playing with her used films when I was young. When I finally decided to give up everything I’ve invested in my previous degree, I went around the university and checked out the curriculum that each degree is offering. One look at the Fine Arts curriculum and I was sold. It seemed like it listed down everything I enjoy doing and placed it in one curriculum. I found my niche. I don’t have any background in Fine Arts aside from that photography class and some theater performance back in high school. I suck at drawing but I’ve always known that I have ideas I wanted to realize.
One advice that we keep on hearing is follow your passion. There’s a lot of things to consider before taking that advice. Sometimes it’s actually harder finding that passion than pursuing it. So what really is passion? Our trusty Merriam-Webster dictionary tells us that passion is a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept. We can be passionate to a lot of different things. Most of us assume that once we follow our passion, we become successful. That advice should come with a disclaimer. Following your passion doesn’t guarantee instant success like how media wanted us to believe. It takes a lot of time, effort and good decision making to make quitting that 9-5 job worth it.
Finding your passion means trying out a lot of things. We’ll never really know that we’re passionate about one thing if we haven’t tried doing it for a while. In my own experience, I learned quite late at the age of 21 that I have this love for the arts. It all started when I surprisingly won a camera from an arcade game. It was a really cheap camera but I was able to maximize its capabilities. Looking back at it now, I took really weird photographs but I enjoyed the process. I’m blessed to have a really supportive family. When I had my first DSLR, I knew I had to give back by taking good photos of them whenever we have family vacations. They were my first subjects.
There’s an ongoing debate on whether “follow you passion” is a good or bad advice. I personally think that it’ll only be a good advice if you know that it won’t be that easy. The same thing happened to me. I followed my passion for creating films but that didn’t turn out well. There’s a lot of factors we should consider on why simply following your passion doesn’t work. Factors like the work environment and colleagues. The people around you can make it impossible for you to be happy with something you’re passionate about. In the end, success is measured based on how happy you are with your current state. Rather than just following your passion, nurture it. Always try to improve and don’t be afraid to try new things. We might discover new passions along the way.
It’s been 3 months that I’ve been here in this awesome platform. Steemit is home to thousands of passionate individuals. I can attest to that. I’ve really grown in this platform. Writing has always been one of my insecurities. I just love how positive the community is. It allows you to commit mistakes without the feeling of being judged. We all grow together as a community. We all aspire to be better in our craft. And most of all, we get to meet really inspiring individuals. I know Steemit is just getting started. I’m happy to be part of this journey and I hope we all keep our passions burning.
Thank you for viewing! Let me know what you think of this series.
