Passion.
A word consisting of merely seven letters ~ yet within it holds so much meaning.

I woke up in the morning and something was missing. The oh so glorious smell of coffee and endless possibilities had somehow, without my knowing, trickled away. As I turned to look out my window, I saw snow falling, covering the ground in a winter abomination. It, along with my soul, had turned cold. Somehow, somewhere along the line, the significant people of my life had stolen away the most important aspect of my being: my passion.
I rev my engine and speed towards school, spirits hanging low, somehow always in a rush. My expectations are simple: please others. Shoot for the arbitrary A. Why? It looks good. A whoosh of equations and useless facts blow in through one ear and out the other, completely missing my brain. I try and try, but it has no deeper meaning than this -- it’s not what I love.
I head to class to work on my project -- such a dreaded task. I tend to assume all of school is the same: useless. My head falls promptly into the steady perch of my hand as I watch the minutes tick by. But then voices cut through the silence. They are strong and confident, they tell me of the beauty in the world. They teach me, nurture me, tell me to follow my dreams, and I am afraid. But floundering in a pool of hesitation and trepidation constitutes stagnation, and you can never influence the world by trying to be like it.
The sun hits high noon and this is where my mind set changes. This is where I find the courage to be fearlessly authentic.
Problems arise and problems fall, but we always seemed to find our way through. The word “problem” rings with such a negative connotation, but that’s not always the case. To bloom, the most beautiful flowers must dig their way through the dirt, and Lord knows I've dug through mine. It has molded me into a more equipped, more ready individual. An individual who does not dread the problem, but rather looks at it as a challenge. A challenge which I will stop at nothing to fix.
Dusk begins to fall and I can see myself metamorphosing. It hit me that advertising has us working jobs we hate, seeking after fancy cars, brand name clothes, big houses, and s*** we don’t need, to impress people who we don’t even like. But to live a life of love, of passion, and of success in terms of happiness rather than monetary gain, we must stay true to ourselves. So I will walk with the dreamers, the believers, the courageous, the doers, the cheerful people with their heads in the clouds and their feet on the ground. I will allow them to ignite a fire within my spirit that leads to find the glory within passion. And to all those who influenced my thoughts before this day: you will hear thunder and remember me, and think, she liked storms. The rims of the horizon will be the color of hard crimson, and my heart, as it was then, will be on fire.
The stars come out and the sun falls behind the mountains. I have become myself. As The Velveteen Rabbit once said, “You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or have to be carefully kept. Generally by the time you are real, all your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all. Because once you are real, you can't be ugly, except to the people who don't understand.”
I step outside to see the snow had gone. Summer kissed my face in it’s warm embrace, and looking up at the stars I know, writing makes me whole. So I fill this paper with the breathings of my heart and the secrets of my soul, and I advise to you that, when writing the story of your life, let nobody else hold the pen.
My eyes open and burn like the rising sun because finally I had realized that I have two options in this life; I can either continue to sleep with my dreams, or I can wake up and chase them.