I will start by saying that this will not be a post talking about my move or my new town directly, but more I guess about me. I have been thinking about passions lately and not in the steamy sense, more in the fulfilling sense. One of the things that this move and the changes it has brought has taught me is to have something that you feel passionate about and do it and that passion can get you through almost anything.
I have never really been someone who has been incredibly fulfilled by what I do professionally, this is not to say that I don't love what I do at points, but the only time I have really felt fulfilled emotionally and spiritually by a professional experience was my time at Project D.E.E.P. It is a small non-profit that provides exam prep and tutoring for middle school kids in Boston to get the into the exam schools or private schools in the Boston area. I was deeply committed to the program, my siblings were students in their middle school time and I tutored all through high school. When the opportunity came to work there professionally, I jumped at the chance and became so invested in working there that when I applied for the position, my mother stepped down from the Board of Directors so as not to present a conflict of interest. Although the work I did was challenging, over the time I was there, the students were amazing, the tutors were remarkable and I could feel the difference that this program made in people's lives.
But like every good thing, it had to come to an end. In 2010, after the start of the recession, funding was simply not there to sustain the staff as it was, so at first my hours were scaled back and then I was told that the position I held was being eliminated. I understood, and although it was hard to say good bye, I started to look for another position and found one at Northeastern. That job was good, but it was not a passion project like DEEP was.
I was always someone that found passions elsewhere, whether it be writing or my latest project sewing. And I have found that sometimes sewing is the only thing that gets me through the day. Being in a big house all by myself all day, the whir of the machine and the feel of the fabric is calming. Before having this time, sewing was something I often put by the wayside because of other things in life, but now, having the time, I realize that passion, really any passion, makes a bad day bearable. It turns the tense conversation with a boss into an afterthought when you are playing your guitar. You can take out your frustration from a customer or client on a mutant in a videogame. Yoga can make the stress of wedding planning a quiet hum in your life. I guess the point is, take time to do something for yourself, indulge in a passion and reap the rewards.
Another (albeit somewhat odd) passion of mine is sports. I love watching them and even occasionally playing them. Particularly, I care about hockey. It's a sport that my husband and his friends have gotten me into (although my mom was a bit of hockey fan back in the day) and it has quickly become a passion. I have started inhaling knowledge about the sport and now, stuck in a gameless lockout, feel somewhat adrift. I have tried to make a concerted effort to pay attention to the actual content on the CBA talks, rather than just railing against one side or another. I have quickly become disillusioned with the whole process though, in particular commissioner Gary Bettman. This is the 3rd lockout in his tenure as commissioner and the third that had ultimately come down to less money for the players. Men that put their lives on the line for fans enjoyment. The owners are simply risking their livelihood, and in most cases, the team is not their sole source of income. I am also cognizant of the fact that this is millionaires vs. billionaires, but at the end of the day, it is about the fans enjoying a sport that has shaped lives and brought families together.
In the end, I just want the season to start again so I don't have to get depressed every time I see a tweet from Tyler Seguin or Andrew Ference about them playing overseas. I completely understand that it what they have to do, but gosh does it bum me out.
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