I appreciate it when my friends and family throw challenging questions at me. The one entitled seems quite straight forward, but I think a passion requires a certain amount of depth. You can’t be truly passionate about something without understanding at least to a moderate degree why it’s become something you greatly enjoy.
To have passion for something can sound rather intense on the surface. One of the first things that springs to my mind is the passion described in romantic movies, the deep love that’s found in another person. However, when the question is asked in a more casual setting, I think it’s mostly aimed to discover what hobbies the person enjoys. To understand a passion is to provide a glimpse on someone’s way of thinking; how they perceive the world and what captures their interest.
With that in mind, I wanted to take the opportunity to express some of mine:
Photography – Now, I want to begin with a big disclaimer. I know at least a couple of photographers who take this very seriously and I wouldn’t want to undermine their skill through my ignorance of the technical details involved here. I’m certainly not a professional, but I deeply appreciate the unceasing beauty that can be captured in photos. More specifically, I have a particular fascination in capturing landscapes from the perspective of a drone. It’s only over the last decade or so that good Camera Drones have been accessible to the average consumer, and in the last handful of years they’ve become cheap enough to make it possible for almost anyone living in an economically stable part of the world to have one. Personally, I bought a DJI Spark in 2017. At £399, it’s definitely on the budget end of the market as far as good Camera Drones go, but with it’s fixed lens and a decent enough 12MP sensor, it was good enough for me. In fact, because it’s so simple to operate, and because the results in my eyes seem great, I use the same one to this day. Here are some of my favourites over the last few years.
Dominican Republic | 2018
Spain | 2018
Georgia | 2023
Reading – I’ve never enjoyed reading. I’d go as far as to say I still don’t, at least not in the typical way we define enjoyment. So why would I raise this as something I’m passionate about? Well, I spend a considerable amount of time doing it. I don’t profess to have a bullet proof schedule nailed down which is dedicated to reading, as I don’t particularly find it fun, but I do find it useful. I’m not professing to anything new here to others that don’t find reading entertaining. If you have been educated in a good school, then it’s likely been drilled into your brain that the ability to read is one of the most useful life skills to have. Further than that, to be able to read, comprehend, analyse and criticise information was taught to be highly important in living a good independent life, where decisions can be made based on sound reasoning. Looking back, these things were taught in stages. In our early years, Comprehension classes would challenge ourselves to read through question and answer texts which would help us to analyse information and answer the relevant questions based on the material in front of us. In later years our Modern History classes were particularly useful in offering methods to which we may be able to identify when something is untrue or misleading. Propaganda was a term used a number of times in each of these classes. One definition of Propaganda is as follows:
information, ideas, opinions, or images that give one part of an argument, which are broadcast, published, etc. in order to influence people’s opinions
PROPAGANDA | English meaning – Cambridge Dictionary
To this day we see propaganda, arguably more than ever, with the internet and Social Media being a useful outlet to distribute information, true or untrue, in more ways than have ever been available in the past. It’s useful to define your position on a matter, but in my eyes it would seem dangerous to ever conclude that it’s correct with 100% certainty. My brother is a considerable number of years younger than me and whenever we’re in conversation, if I offer my opinion on something, I’ll often remind him that it’s the viewpoint I’ve come to, but I’d much prefer if he takes that information and reasoned on it himself. If he comes to an alternative conclusion, so be it. Alternatively, the differing stance could be used as an avenue to open up further discussion.
The notion that we only do things outside of paid secular work because they’re fun seems ultimately meaningless in my eyes. Isn’t it much better to create opportunities for growth and face your challenges with the intention of becoming something better? I take most interest in Psychology and Anthropology/Sociology. I certainly don’t profess to be a well-educated academic in these areas by any stretch of the imagination, but I do think broadening the scope of your thinking here helps to break away from a potentially isolated, internalised world-view found in childhood onto something considerably more reasonable.
Writing – I’ll let you be the critic here. Most of what I currently write is in the form of relatively short blog posts and based on topics I’m pondering over. I don’t expect others to find it particularly interesting, but I find it helps to refine thoughts I have milling around my head. I often consider an anecdote or two and base some of my reasoning from there. I don’t have any formal education in creative writing, so the way I structure some of my content may not fall well within the standards of someone who does, but my aim and intention is to offer something that is easy to follow and always stays focused on the topic at hand. If I offer an anecdote, I aim to ensure it’s relevant and doesn’t include too much unnecessary information that detracts from the reason I’m stating it to begin with.
If you were to ask the person I was even just 3 years ago if they would write a personal blog, he would have laughed in your face and told you how cringey that sounds. Maybe to some it is; but my aim isn’t to brag about any of my accomplishments or to gain some kind of following. I am reasonably certain that it’s reading won’t extend outside the scope of a handful of family and friends who I’m close to. The intention is to meditate on some of my thoughts and express them in writing; I’d like to think this will help in the continuous journey of becoming the person I desire to be.
JW Blog 