Find Your Passion- and the Rest Will Fall into Place

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." --Howard Thurman

I think overwhelmed is an understatement when I reference to my first few weeks living in Washington. Between the hustle and bustle of meeting all the wonderful new people in my cohort, orientation, my first day of my internship, policy salons, study tours, reading, and so much more, the first two weeks here really blended together into one big memory of lots of new things, people and experiences. 

The weeks go by fast, and I think the reason we are here can get lost sometimes. However, the John Glenn College of Public Affairs' motto of "turn your passion into policy" cannot be more true than it is when living in D.C. We all, and not I'm not just talking about the awesome WAIPers, come to D.C. to pursue our passions, and one of the most beautiful things that I think about every day is how different our passions are. People fall into their passions in different ways. Some people have known what ignites their heart from the time they start walking, some people find it in the midst of middle school and high school, some people find it during the quick four years of college, and many people find it well after graduating. I like to think that everyone's passion grows and changes as we get older. 

Regardless of how you stumble upon your passion, D.C. is the place to come to pursue it. It is here that you can literally change the world for the better. Whether it be through policy, getting the information out there, getting in contact with the right people or some mixture of these plus a few more, D.C. is full of people who come here to make a difference. 

I know where my passion lies. I know what topics I could talk about for hours and not get bored with. I know where my eyes drift when I'm looking at the news. I know what subjects get me heated up because I feel so passionate about them. And that's all that I need. I have found my passion in life, and I know that the rest will follow because finding and chasing your passion cannot steer you in the wrong direction. 

Being in college, the future can be uncertain. Majors change, ideas of your dream job changes, the city that you would absolutely love to go to when you graduate changes. Nothing about the future is ever 100% certain. But when you find that one thing that really makes you come alive, you can be 100% certain that the future will fall into place when you pursue it.  

-Claire