There comes a point in every person’s life where they fall in love. I don’t mean the traditional love with another person. I am talking about a love for a specific place, idea, thought, artist, movie; the list goes on forever. There is a spark of excitement every time you hear this thing mentioned. For some people, this emotion may not be strong, but for others, this can be a whirlwind of emotions. If you are a type of person who becomes extremely passionate about something, that is okay.
Did you read that last sentence correctly? It is okay. I really want you to know that.
Today there is this idea that if you talk about something a lot it is “weird” or “obsessive” or maybe even “annoying”. Excessively loving something is looked down upon and some consider it strange. It can even get the point where a “fan” of something can have a negative connotation.
A passion is anything but that. It is something that brightens the worst of days. It can give you something to spend your free time on. It can even teach you something you didn’t know and introduce you to something new.
People think passions are just something that a person “really really really likes”, but it goes deeper. It is something that has emotionally impacted the person to the point that they now want to share their excitement and love with the world. They are proud of something and want to find someone to introduce what they consider to be amazing. It may have evenly deeply influenced them to the point of changing their life and they want to be able to show you that experience.
There may be times where people do not understand how or why you love something. When someone looks down on a passion, it is like taking away someone’s hopes and making them feel small. It can make you feel silly for being excited when your favorite actor is on a talk show or feel guilty when you listen to your favorite song for 47th day in a row. It can be difficult to express yourself when you are paranoid about what people may think or how they react. You let those emotions build up until you feel like you are about to burst. It can be scary to let it known because you do not know how people will react. The funny thing is that should not matter. The idea of other people's reactions should not scare you from expressing yourself.
If you ever feel alone, remember there are people everywhere who are just. like. you. People whose heart race every time they hear that song come on for the 48th time and wait for days to see a new movie. The people who will talk for hours about a single book series or sports team. There are people and communities solely dedicated to topics that have open forums for you to discuss. There are people out there waiting to talk to you about the next season of your favorite television show.
I want you to remember something, never apologize or be ashamed for showing your passion for something. Do not let other people’s negativity get in the way of something you love and cherish. People may joke around about you being “obsessed” with something, but it should not matter if it makes you happy. Just a little something to remember every once in a while.
