I never understood the hype around sports; I could appreciate the competition, but I certainly couldn’t get behind learning the players, the stats or their paths to greatness. That was until my sister began playing lacrosse and I became a travel companion and all-around cheerleader with my mom, who is one of the most passionate people I have ever met.
Long story short, I was a music kid who began playing the cello in fourth grade and spent her time reading books and writing fantastical worlds I hoped to one day be part of. My sister, on the other hand, began playing lacrosse freshman year of high school and is one of the biggest social butterflies I know.
And my mom – while supporting both of us – could not get nearly as passionate at an orchestra concert as she could at a lacrosse game. I used to laugh at her about it until I found myself doing it too. First, it was about penalties and goals, then it was about my successes and the successes of those around me.
Win at bowling? Celebrate it. Do worse on a test than expected? Learn from it. It’s like our friends Timon and Pumba from “The Lion King” always say: Hakuna matata, meaning no worries. As I’ve worked through college, I’ve learned that celebrating the little victories is the same as improving on the little defeats.
I can hear the arguments: You shouldn’t be passionate about everything; not everything is that important. And, au contraire – every day is an opportunity to learn something, to fall in love with life and our world once again. Does that mean you will be passionately angry? Yes. Passionately sad? Yes.
But it is better to be passionate about everything than numb about anything.
Certainly, there are times when the weight of the world is unimaginable – insurmountable – but for every bad there is a good, and it is your job to look for it. Instead of getting stuck in downward spirals plagued by hours of doom scrolling, why not look for those upward spirals with the slowly warming weather and beautiful night skies – yes, even the geese that grace our campus with their presence.
I am not recommending you begin with sports. If the idea of a ‘first down’ confuses you, and you don’t understand the difference in hand signal between a football false start and basketball travel – which are the same motion – it is perfectly acceptable to find something else. Get passionate about movies, books, music, political issues or anything that your interest can grow into.
Life is too short to spend it annoyed or angry. Find the passion in your life and use it for everything because everything is deserving of your passion – yes, even waiting in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles.