Purpose is why you are in the journey; passion is the fire that lights your way. Strive hard, work hard, walk toward your goal. Don’t we hear these themes a little too often in our daily lives? Most of the teenagers who have weird dreams and aspirations, like myself, may hear this. Some of us may also hear: “Can’t you find anything better?”
I often tell my mom that I want to become a writer. I also tell her that I want to travel around the world and explore the beauty hidden in every bit of darkness in this world. She finds most of what I tell her absurd. At one time I thought that the problem lay in the generation gap, but I realized that maybe it’s not the gap; maybe they don’t know how passionate I am.
Your passion and your determination to chase your dreams will define you. No matter what, always follow your heart and always follow your passion because once you abandon them, they are like hydrogen balloons: they will float off, and no matter how much you try, you will never get them back. Do what you like because, at the end of the day, no matter what you do or how good you do it, you will be criticized.
You don’t always need to be a math wizard to live your life to the fullest. You just need to be a dreamer with endless passion — with a dream so strong and a passion that will never fade. In this world of survivors, may you be known for living.
Shivani Menon, 15, was born in India and is an aspiring young writer. She likes writing and writes about all her turbulent thoughts and also about the chaotic world. She reads all genres of books. One of her favorite books is All the Bright Places. She says, “I write to peace the demons in me. I write to give my imagination life. I write to give my life a reason. I write for people to hear me for my cause. Writing is my voice. It’s my message.”