Why You Should Pursue Your Passions Even if You Don’t Feel Special

My poetic journey

What comes to your mind when you think of the words Poetry Cafe?

Perhaps a person is standing center stage reading their poems under a bright spotlight. Maybe a passionate audience is snapping their fingers joyfully, or you think of the sweets filled throughout the cafe and smile at these delicacies.

I first felt something as close to this version of a poetry cafe in my first year of high school.

My English teacher had decorated her classroom in a night-time theme with shimmering gold stars all around. She had rearranged the desks into a semi-circle and had brownies, caramelized popcorn and other delicious snacks in one corner of the room.

One by one, students went up to the front of the room to share a poem they had written. When it was my turn to share a poem, this is what I read:

Hope

The world greatly smiles and keeps on moving, but I stay far, far behind

For I am trapped, In a thought that cannot be stopped, In a bubble that cannot be popped

For I am alone, Rejected by society, Even my closest friends have turned against me,

All wanting me to go far, far away, So now I wander the cold icy streets alone like a stray

But if you look at me, You will see no trace of tears or sadness in my eyes Or any sign of hurt or pain where my heart lies

But what you will see is a smile stapled on my face Because even though I shatter I have hope that to someone I matter

I had written this poem at age 15 when I was beginning my high school journey. Clearly, I was hurting.

What surprised me the most was my courage to share myself in a vulnerable state in front of my entire class. To this day, I have no idea how I did it, but I am grateful I did because it was the start of a poetic journey.

A couple of weeks later, I received a note from my teacher that said my poem was going to be published in a poetry contest! I was ecstatic and as I told my friends, one said, “Oh honey, everyone’s poem gets published in that contest.”

Whatever excitement I had soon dissolved and I stashed away my poetic desires with the belief my writing wasn’t special. I felt ordinary.

How often do we hide our talents from the world in fear of appearing ordinary or less than someone else?

When we hesitate to live out our passions, we miss out on the slight possibility of touching a person’s heart.

There are a wide-range of passions from photography to dancing. Whatever your passion may be, being conscious of your inner passions can lead to sharing an authentic version of yourself with others.

I’d like to highlight a couple of people who’ve touched my heart in the past couple of days with their passions:

Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles with her beautifully captured peacock:

Ali with her breath-taking paintings:

And Tamil with her empowering stories:

Years later, I did pick up poetry again because it allowed my heart to speak when my head couldn’t think of whole sentences. It has allowed me to become conscious of my inner feelings and unmask my vulnerabilities.

When we hesitate to live out our passions, we also miss out on the peace that comes with unleashing our heart.

So, I believe you should pursue your passion even if you don’t feel special compared to others because passion projects aren’t meant to be a competition.

Passion projects are ones that make your heart sing and dance even if you don’t get a medal and praise in the end. Become aware of your feelings when you take part in your passion projects. If you feel good about the process don’t worry about it being the next best thing or not as long as it means something special to you, that’s what matters.

This piece is in response to Yana Bostongirl’s and Carmellita’s collaborative prompt on consciousness. Thank you for providing this prompt❤