The other night a few of my friends and I talked about how in college it seems as though there is push from all sides telling us that it is the time for us to choose and focus on only one of our things that we are extremely passionate about... It is hard to figure out what that thing is for some of us. In some ways I think it is sad letting some things you are passionate about get let go. To me it's like a little piece of what makes you you kind of die in a way. That is why even though I am passionate about teaching, and that is my main focus, I refuse to let the things that make me happy go to waist.... Thinking about this topic made me really identify what my passions are. There are some things I remember thinking I wanted to keep doing when I was younger and as I grew up those things shifted a bit, or changed all together... Still there are a few things that I have never stopped enjoying from each of the different stages I have gone through. There are some that I have just recently been made aware of in the past few years as well.
Music is one of my passions that I have kept since I can remember. My mom said that I would play around on my older sister's keyboard for hours when I was little, and when I say little I mean back in my toddler aged days. She said I would just sit there and be perfectly content hitting the different notes and listening to the different sounds they made while trying to play songs. My parents did not have that much money to start me on piano lessons really until I was around the age of nine. I remember how excited I was to finally take them. I became really good at it, and thought that I could be famous, but as I grew older I stopped really playing the piano for other people so much (mainly because I get major stage fright...sad excuse, but true nonetheless), and started playing it for me. I would play it for Mass sometimes, but would freak-out and mess up SO much that I figured it would be better for all involved to just let someone who enjoys that kind of thing to play. Even now though I play it when I am home alone or when I need to let some of my pent-up emotions out.
Another passion of mine, obviously is teaching. I love to teach, mostly younger kids, because between you and me, they are still shorter than me and so I feel tall and more in control. Really though, I love teaching that age because their brains are like sponges. They want to learn. They LOVE to learn. They understand what they learn SO much faster than even the children in the upper elementary grades do. Not to mention they are a joy to be around. These kids brighten up my day with the quarky little comments they make or questions they have. I wouldn't trade my job for anything. Not only do I love my teaching job, but I LOVE my faith, and I love to teach it and that is why I enjoy teaching both ccd classes and Confirmation classes. I helped teach ccd classes since I was in high school, and if my schedule worked for me this year I would have done it again. I still teach Confirmation though, and I am enjoying the challenge. These kids have helped me search and learn way more about my faith than I knew, and I thought I knew quite a bit. Boy, was I fooled.
Retreats... helping lead them more specifically or chaperoning them... I love it. I am known as a "retreat junkie." I can't have enough of them. I get to use my creativity and outgoing crazy personality to help bring some of the kids out of their shells. As much as I get stage fright with playing my piano, I still have when I stand-up to do a talk, but doing talks in a way is different for me. I am a talker, and so I can cover up much better when I miss something I meant to cover in a talk than when I play the piano. I did not really realize my love of helping the youth in this way until I started my sophomore year of college.
Those are just a few of the things I am passionate about and I fully intend to not let anyone of these go as I grow older. There are some others, but with the way I wrote about these I have a feeling my post would be extremely long, so I will end with those.
2 comments:
Teresa,
One of your many gifts is that you are able to identify your gifts! So many people go through life wondering, what am I good at, anyways? It was kind of sad for me a month or two ago when I was teaching a group of kids at my ministry assignment. I asked them what they thought their gifts were, and two of them couldn't even think of anything. Understanding one's gifts lead one to know how God is calling him or her to use those gifts for His Kingdom.
Where our passions and the needs of the world intersect, there is usually our calling.
Finally, here's a story that I think of a lot. Over five years ago when I was working at extended care, I asked one of the kids my favorite question: What do you want to be when you grow up?
The kid thought for a few seconds and said, "I want to be lots of things!" I was expecting the usual fireman or policeman or what have you. But his answer is a beautiful one that taught me not to let my passions go by the wayside.
Mike
Mike,
I suppose you are right about being able to identify one's gifts is a gift in itself.
When you mentioned asking the kids what they thought their gifts were and they didn't know made me think about how when I was in sixth grade someone asked me the same thing... and I remember my own mind kind of go blank because I could not think of any at that time. I am glad that I can now answer that question pretty much immediately when someone asks me.
Even now, some of my friends are clueless, or let them go to chase after another goal they think is more worthwhile, such as what will make them more money. It makes me sad to watch them let go of something they enjoy for more materialistic things....
Teresa
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