While packing up for my move, I have been taking some time to sift through memorabilia. Revisiting things from my past brings up all kinds of emotions as I reminisce on the different stages in my life that have brought me to here and now.
Perhaps one of the only good things about moving is that you get the chance to rediscover things you've owned for years that got stashed away and in a sense vanished.
It's interesting to notice what it is that we choose to hold onto. For me, writing has always been one of life's simple pleasures. I can actually remember the first journal I got when I was either 5 or 6 years old. It was a Hello Kitty journal from the mall in Florida where I was living at that time. From a very early age, I relied on writing for refuge, understanding of myself (thoughts and feelings), and healing.
I went on to study Journalism in college with the intention of one day becoming a writer. It took me 15 years to finally build up the courage, confidence, and motivation to start doing something that my spirit has always been yearning for me to get back to.
I share this with you because I believe that discovering what you feel passionate about, what it is that makes you feel alive, is what actually gives you purpose and a reason to live. I feel grateful to have discovered two of the things I love that make me feel most alive, writing and counseling. In my sessions with clients, their first homework assignment is to buy a notebook and begin to journal about various things that come up in session. I tell them that I was once heard someone say that if you write something that is not true, every cell in your body feels it and sends you the message that you are not being truthful with yourself or accepting the truth about your situation. I encourage clients to write so that the therapeutic process can happen in and outside of my office.
When I was a junior in high school, I took a geography class with a man named Dr. Parks. It was definitely one of my favorite classes as I felt he was a really great teacher who felt very passionate about what he taught us. I owe some of my love for writing to him because he inspired me to write about things that mattered.
Each week he assigned us one question on world issues that we needed to answer in one page or less. The questions varied from, "What to do in order to help the homeless problem in America?" to "What I would do to help the worldwide AIDS crisis?" Here are two that I have chosen to share with you today which have to do with two things I feel very passionate about: Life and Education.
I hope you enjoy!
