Passion is a guide in life, not required but definitely recommended.
Defined by OHS teacher and FFA advisor, Mrs. Tinaglia said, “Something that you are intensely aware of and have a desire for.” Likewise, the dictionary defines passion as, “an intense desire or enthusiasm for something.”
Long stretches of time without personal use, creates unnecessary stress. Having a passion for something, especially at a young age, can produce a great, ideal environment for many opportunities of growth – including excess motivation. It helps with designing a path throughout both high school and college, showing suggested classes and extracurricular activities. It goes the opposite way as well, school uncovering passion.
School can really help students – if intended well – find their passion. And taking time to find it at such a young age is a really good head start. Joining school activities causes very little pressure on students unless their schedule is already mostly booked. There is a very wide range of sports and extracurriculars available, all offering different skills and learning regions. Not only after-school activities, but in school too. Many classes for things like cooking, different sciences, future exploring, etc.
OHS junior Finley Carlson mentioned, “my biggest passion is designing and creating… Nowadays my itch for creation is satisfied through 3-D design, woodworking, and cinematography.” Carlson was able to somewhat gather reassurance of his passion through classes in school, however it also restricted him a bit from pursuance. He also widely believes that it should correlate strongly with careers.
Tinaglia said, “Try, explore, you never know till you try it. Also take recommendations.” One thing though, is to not make someone else’s desires your own, especially if that’s not what’s wanted. Don’t do something just because that’s what they want.
A lot of students are restricted by fear, or even hesitation, stopped by the idea that if they join they might not be good at it whatsoever. The only thing is, it was never about being good. It’s about enjoying it and having that desire to keep constantly getting better at it.
Join a team, talk to someone who participates, maybe find a new favorite hobby and possibly change ideas on future careers. Things happen out of nowhere so don’t expect things to not change. Time in high school doesn’t last forever after all. It’s best to do something while still available, before it ends up in regret.
