Passion Should be Plural
when i was younger
i was the girl who knew the answer to
every question a classic teacher’s pet
guilty as charged yet there was one time
where i found myself surrounded by
sea of raised hands in response to a
painfully simple question
yet i was speechless the question was
what’s your passion
that question is and most likely always
will be the most daunting question i’ve
ever been asked
when i was first asked this in seventh
grade social studies i was unable to
formulate an answer
yet my classmates eloquently wrote
paragraphs and artistically designed
posters
about their love of ballet or tennis or
math
now i realized that these kids were most
likely not going to grow up and become
the next misty copeland or roger federer
albert einstein that i didn’t care
i so badly wanted to answer that
question with the level of confidence
and authority that they had and i still
do
to me passion meant what you’re best at
what you’re known for what you spent
most of your time doing
what you’re a master at and you can only
have one with that definition
i was passionless this definition isn’t
something i came up with myself it has
been ingrained in my brain by coaches
teachers and even my parents
i tried out for a club volleyball team
at the beginning of fourth grade after
only having played that summer
surprisingly i made the team and the
first thing the coach said to me was
that this club will guarantee i’ll be
committed to the d1 school of my choice
with a full ride by my junior year he
then proceeded to hand out a practice
schedule
with practice four times a week games
every weekend tournaments once a month
once a month in summer training
all mandatory as a nine-year-old who
tried out solely because her mom wanted
her out of the house
how was i to know that i would spend the
next nine years of my life committed to
one thing
apparently i was the only one confused
about this idea as when the first
practice came along girls showed up
wearing bama
osu and baylor shirts telling me
enthusiastically and with utmost
confidence that they will go play
volleyball there
and to be completely honest i would have
rather played soccer than volleyball but
as kids in texas i
started playing soccer at the age of
three and didn’t quit at the age of six
like i did
i was far too late to rejoin the game
the idea that being the master of one is
equal to success is something i’ve grown
up surrounded by not just by my peers
but by my family as well
my mom grew up a violinist my dad a
runner and my sister a performer
my mom started playing violin when she
was four performed numerous times at the
kennedy center in washington dc and went
to
and got a scholarship to carnegie mellon
which she attended at 15 years old
my dad started running cross-country in
fifth grade had the 15th fastest 5k time
in the u.s at age 16.
went on to represent the country at the
first international meet in hong kong
and he went to university on a floor
ride which he still holds records there
to this day
my sister who most of you know is the
epitome of a theater geek
she started singing before she could
talk no seriously
she started to begin to hum the words of
the little mermaid before she ever said
her first word
when she was three years old she decided
she wanted to be on broadway and has yet
to think anything differently
from the age of four to round eight i
followed my sister’s path of musical
theater yet once i realized i was
constantly going to be in her shadow
effort during that time i picked up
gymnastics and quit the day after i made
the
state competition team i probably picked
up soccer on four different occasions
and
um each ending with me swearing i won’t
ever play again
i played basketball ultimate frisbee
golf rugby
all competitively and no surprise here
i’ve put them all
i’m pretty sure that the only reason i
play volleyball on softball now is
because i quit them before and somehow
caught my way back
i’m a perpetual quitter because once i
realize i’m not the best at something
and i’m not going to be the best at
something i figure it is not my passion
and thus i might as well just quit i’ve
grown up thinking that this makes me
mundane
inferior even and i thought that without
a special hobby to distinguish me from
the masses
i was being set up to fail as a result
of this i’ve achieved multiple
mediocrities yet i am exceptional at
nothing
i’m the jack of all trades constantly
surrounded by and being pushed to become
the master of one while i was in chinese
class a few years ago we studied chinese
idioms with inconceivable english
translations
one of them was which directly
translates to three-legged cat
however it’s the equivalent of the
chinese it’s the equivalent of the
english phrase jack of all trades
it originated from the seven revised
manuscripts of the ming dynasty in which
a legend states that a cat is very
skilled at hunting
however it only has three legs so it is
always viewed as inferior
despite the cat’s skills they can never
make progress and is never recognized
for its success
over time this phrase has evolved to be
used when someone is unprofessional or
describing a lack of troubles
when i searched this phrase of my
chinese dictionary i found two
definitions to be shocking one a
metaphor used to describe a person who
knows very little
and two used to describe a level that is
not high
but why is being the jack of all trades
such a bad thing why do
there’s such a big push to find your
passion why does your passion only has
to be one thing
the thing is it doesn’t a psychological
study
published by professors professors at
yale stanford and the national
university of singapore
test the implicit theories of interest
or in other words
answering the question do we truly find
our passions or do we develop them over
time
as paul o’keefe of yale states people
often assume that their own passion
just needs to be found once it’s found
it’ll be in a fully formed state
he goes on to explain how incredibly
flawed that reasoning is
the study examined how the two different
implicit theories of interest
impacted how people approach their
passions the first theory suggests that
passions are singular and unchanging
while the growth theory suggests that
these passions are developed over time
often change and are not innate to our
personalities
because of this the discussion about
passion needs to be carefully
communicated
telling people to find their passion
could suggest that it’s within you just
waiting to be revealed
likewise telling people to follow their
passions suggest that the passion will
do the lion’s share of work for you
both statements are wildly untrue and
suggest a passive process to fulfillment
and success
instead of searching for that one thing
that’ll be the answer to it all experts
stress the importance of flexibility
after all what we’re passionate about
now probably won’t be what we’re
passionate about in two years or even
two days
the study found that those with the
growth theory of interest were more
versatile and well-rounded and could
adapt easier than those who possess
the fixed theory urging people to find
their passion leads to them putting all
of their eggs in one basket
and then dropping that basket once it
becomes too difficult to carry
the idea that finding your passion
should be forgotten instead we should
all focus on developing skills and
multiple interests
this will result in placing eggs in many
different baskets ensuring that not one
is heavy enough to be dropped
essentially passion shouldn’t be a one
word answer but rather a sentence
paragraph even where the word and
approves regularly between multiple
different subjects and activities
although the idea that that passion
should be plural is scientifically
proven it doesn’t mean it’s something
that’s practiced or preached
challenging the notion that many of us
have grown up with is not an easy battle
in the slightest however i’ve come to
realize that there is fulfillment
that comes from being able to play a
pickup soccer match on the way home from
volleyball practice
or writing a research report on the
illicit trait of small arms and my
weapons while singing a musical theater
duet
is this fulfillment comparable to that
of shouting after one passion to the
entire class
or being able to look back at your
achievements through photographs posted
on your mom’s facebook like clockwork
i don’t know and i never will yet what i
do know
is that the flexibility in your interest
and the skills from trying many
different things
will greatly benefit your future success
is not contingent upon
focusing on only one thing questions
about passion should be asked with a
plural
and all kids should grow up knowing that
their passions refer to things that they
love
not only things they are best at your
college acceptance track shouldn’t have
to start in fourth grade
and you shouldn’t have to have your life
planned out before it’s even begun
there’s a joy that comes in quitting and
lessons that come from not knowing the
best the next step
being a jack of all trades does not
imply
imply inability or insignificance it
simply implies a burning desire
dare i say passion to seize every
opportunity resulting in unmatched
versatility and adaptability
thank you
you