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VIEWPOINT FROM A TEXAS CHALLENGE ACADEMY CADET
I have come to the conclusion that passion is the driving force of life; In order to succeed, you must manipulate it. During my earlier years, I struggled with self-control and often disobeyed my parents, not out of intention but rather due to inattention. In my freshman year, I went through a period of melancholy, making me focus on the negatives rather than the positives. Then waning I became stoic, feeling as though I was getting run over by life on a daily basis with a straight face as I tried to cope with life in a detached manner. However, that approach didn’t work leaving me feeling pent-up and passive.
While trying to write a book, I realized that passion influences nearly every emotion we experience. Passion, if thought of as motivation, It becomes a spectrum; obsession is the excess, apathy the lack of. Many of our fundamental feelings such as anger, fear, disgust, happiness, sadness, boredom, love, and inspiration, can be traced back to this spectrum. Other emotions are also connected, including the seven deadly sins; grief, anxiety, depression, impulsivity, altruism, and escapism. You may not recognize everything on this spectrum until you reflect on it.
This realization led me to understand that I need to gain control over my passion. Instead of drifting aimlessly through life like plankton, I need to take charge and start swimming. The Texas Challenge Academy helped me remember the discipline instilled in me, the patience I was taught, and the hope I aspire to foster. I often remind myself, “The only thing worse than being bad is being mediocre.”
PASSION DRIVES ME TO BE WHO I AM TODAY
