Passion.

Noun: pas·sion \ˈpa-shən\

Strong and barely controllable emotion.

Passion is my favorite word, because it describes the driving, inextinguishable flame behind everything that fills my soul with immeasurable joy. Without passion, what makes life worth living? In reality, we were not placed onto this beautiful earth simply to live; rather, we were made to thrive.

Frankly, going through the motions on a daily basis has no meaning - working for the weekend and faking it until you make it will never provide the happiness, tenacity, or zeal for life that everyone so desperately longs for.

Comfort is death! Things will not always be luxurious or picture-perfect or comfortable, but what is so important is the drive to #seek #what #sets #your #soul #on #fire. SERIOUSLY. Find something that overwhelms you with feeling, even if it's scary, and lose yourself in it.

As Van Gogh so beautifully said, "I would rather die of passion than boredom."

I am passionate about health. I am passionate about the ocean. I am passionate about my family. I am passionate about books. I am passionate about loving others. I am passionate about sunsets. I am passionate about good music. I am passionate about dogs. I am passionate about food. I am passionate about life. The amount of love I have for these things and so many more could literally burst out of my heart.

I asked some students at Florida State University what they were passionate about, and these were their responses:

"As Winston Churchill said, 'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.' If you’re not giving to others throughout the process of your life, you’re not living your life to its fullest potential." Jessica Allen, 19.

"I don't think there's anything more rewarding than seeing the good in humanity, and what can be accomplished when people come together and put their differences aside." Jake Kile, 19.

"I'm passionate about my friends. If you don't surround yourself with people who make you happy, you aren't going to be happy!" Sondra Whited, 18.

"Ever since I can remember, I have had a passion for helping others. Knowing that I am the reason someone is happy, relieved, or better off has always given me a good feeling. This passion has driven me to pursue a career path in Biomedical Engineering, where I can do just that in the field of prosthetics and bioinstrumentation." Jason Benn, 21.

"Dance is my passion, because it allows me to express what I feel without words." Kendall Haney, 18.

"Animal Rights." Elizabeth Meinert-Spyker, 18.

" The number one thing I'm passionate about would definitely be letting people know that their brokeness, loss, and hurt is welcome at the cross. We're worse off than we think or realize, but we're covered in more grace than we'll ever know...There's a lot of things that we're universally taught, but I'd say this is not one of them - and everyone deserves to know it." Grace Gilbert, 19.

"When I was in 5th grade, I joined a nonprofit organization - Break Through Miami - which provides a head-start in education for students in elementary school all the way through 9th grade. The program taught me the importance of education for our youth and our future." Riss Mendizabol, 19.

"[My passion is] traveling, because the world is such a beautiful creation and it's important to learn about different cultures and different people. The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." Charlotte Wollermann, 20.

"I'm passionate about becoming a Biomedical Engineer because I will actually be making a difference in the world." Pedro Igorra, 18.

"Something that I'm really passionate about is physical activity. For me personally, this can include going to the gym or playing IM sports with my friends. It always relieves my stress and keeps me feeling healthy." Samantha Klupchak, 19.

"I'm passionate about expanding my horizons, because that's how you grow the most throughout life." Tariq Gay, 19.

"One thing that I am most passionate about in life is the gym. In the gym the only reps you don't grow from are the ones you don't do. Rep by rep you become the person you wanna be. Doing things you're passionate about is important because you only live once, but if you live it right, once is enough." Daniel Kelly, 20.