The holidays are a time to give. Something that no person can buy and hand over to another: passion.

Passion is individual to every person.

People feel lost without passion. They question the next steps to take and in what direction. They struggle to set goals for themselves that they find joy in. People always say that it doesn’t matter how much you make if you aren’t interested and happy at your job. They’re completely correct.

Finding your passions is difficult. During middle school, I struggled to find them. Then, I took a college and career class, and we had to take a quiz to see what career fit us. I matched with a lawyer and explored that area of interest. I found that the career really did fit me. My interest in criminal justice just kept growing, leading me to join the newspaper and debate teams to prepare me for writing, for speeches and for being informed in current issues.

I found that though I am interested in law and enjoy it, it’s not necessarily the law content of study that I’m passionate about – rather what it represents. I’m passionate about making things fair – and eliminating the imbalance of the world for society. My dream job is to work in criminal justice, and potentially be a politician, to engage directly in the base of the unfairness in our world.

I also feel passion for the music I listen to. My music taste came from my parents. My dad, specifically, having worked as a screenwriter, always went to music like Elliot Smith to seek creativity. Musicians write about their emotions and life experience, and that transfers over to the listener. Aside from the fact that I love music, I look to music to cure my consistent writer’s block. Motivation arises, and I’m able to get my thoughts in order.

Passion is easily my favorite feeling. At that moment you feel a rush of excitement and happiness. The best work of everyone comes from an environment of passion. Everyone’s individual passion in particular subjects makes their work in those subjects the greatest, just because of the radiation of enthusiasm represented. For instance, speeches lacking passion are just plain words arranged. If the speaker doesn’t have a love for the prompt of their speech, then the audience won’t develop care for it.

My passion for a variety of topics is endless – writing, political issues, art, music.

It really is a gift to find passion. You’re able to find your place in the world because you personally have an attraction to topics. Passion translates to happiness as you are engaging in what you love.