How it all started.. (Kind of)

Thanks to my mom letting me borrow her Nook for my last 6 months in Mexico and Watertown Public Library’s new online feature, I have been reading like crazy lately. One of the books I’ve picked up is Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie. As I mentioned in my last post, there is a blog by the same name by the same guy. I didn’t just stumble open any of this though. I first heard about Blake Mycoskie through his company, TOMs shoes. [TOMs is a brand of shoes. What makes TOMs really special is their business model of “One for One”. That means that when you buy a pair of shoes from them, they give away a pair to children in need. Shoes are really important on many levels. They protect kids’ feet from diseases that come from the soil, and allow them to go to school, due to shoes being a requirement in most schools. TOMs are really comfortable, cute shoes, but I bought them because they help people. ]

                In his book, he talks about finding your passion. In order to do this, he suggests asking yourself these three questions:

                 If you did not have to worry about money, what would you do with your time?

            What kind of work would you want to do?

            What cause would you serve?

The first question really connected with me. It’s the same question my mom asked me at the beginning of my senior year. Noticing my apparent wanderlust and desire to do something different, she gave me the opportunity to look outside the defined lines of what a college senior should be doing. My answer: go abroad. I didn’t care what I did once I got there, but I needed to see the world. After that, we started to search for options, eventually deciding on Rotary Youth Exchange.  It worked out, and here I am 7 months later in Mexico. If it wouldn’t have been possible with Rotary, I was going to find another way. My point is that I didn’t decide to be a Rotary Youth Exchange student, I decided to travel. Whatever you want to do, there will always be many paths to choose from. If one way doesn’t work out, find another.
My year abroad wasn’t about getting travel out of my system. I haven’t been “cured” of my wanderlust, and I never will be. If anything, travel has now become a part of me, just as much as the blood that flows through my veins.

This year wouldn’t have been possible without my parents, for believing in me, and for giving me the opportunity to do what I felt was right for me.  This is not the first time my parents have let me follow my dreams. At 16, I went to Spain for a month to stay with our summer exchange student, Carmen, and her family. At 17, I went to Guatemala with a school trip for two weeks. I owe so much to them- both for having faith in me, and the world. I know the world can be a scary place, and if you only look at the news and crime rates you might never get past that. In every city in every country in the world bad things happen. Beneath that there are beautiful people who love the same as you do, who care for their families, who want nothing more than to live a good life. I don’t know why my parents never listened while others told them how dangerous it was to send their teenage daughter out into the world, but luckily they didn’t. (Side note: I have also always had the support of my grandparents, my numerous aunts and uncles, and cousins.) I’m thankful for how they raised me, teaching me to look beyond stereotypes, to learn from every experience.  I’m also just really happy that they are my parents.

                If you have time in your busy life, try to find your passion. And read Start Something That Matters. Thanks for reading my ramblings. 

Find Your Passion

                In the book I’m reading right now, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman, this young girl’s great aunt tells her to find her fire. The exact scene is as follows.

                “She glanced over her shoulder at the house, which was now bathed in a warm tint of yellow from the sun. "Yes, everyone needs to find the one thing that brings out her passion. It’s what        we do and share with the world that matters. I believe it’s important that we leave our          communities in better shape that we found them. Cecelia Rose," she said, reaching for my             hand, "Far too many people die with a heart that's gone flat with indifference, and it surely   must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer us amazing opportunities, but we've got to be         awake to recognize them." 

                She rested her hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "If there's one thing I'd like   most for you, it’s that you'll find your calling in life. That's where true happiness and purpose                     lie. Whether it’s taking care of abandoned animals, saving old houses from the wreckin' ball   or reading to the blind, you've got to find your fire, sugar. You'll never be fulfilled if you don't." 

                "But how will I know what my fire is?" 

                "Oh, you'll know. One day you'll do something, see something or get an idea that seems to     pop up from nowhere. And you'll feel a kind of stirring- like a warm flicker inside your chest.             When that happens, whatever you do, don't ignore it. Open your mind and explore the idea.          Fan your flame. And when you do, you'll have found it.”

This may not seem to have a whole lot to do with “Taylor’s Adventures in Mexico” but it is my blog, and I can write whatever I’d like! So first, it’s a good book. If you haven’t read it, do!

Now on to my two cents.
I believe this scene provides advice to all of us. Whether you are 17, 25, 42, 60, or 93 we all need to find that fire inside of us. It is never too late. Life is about finding what makes you happy.

                Our world is constantly bombarded by what we cannot afford, how much we should save, and worrying about the money we don’t have. Money can buy you nice things and get you to exotic places, but it does not create the experiences that will change your life. I went to another country to discover how small the world is and to realize the “things” I miss most from home aren’t things at all. I have learned to be happy, just because every day is so special. Happiness is greater than money.

                You never know when you will discover your passion. Passion doesn’t pay the bills, but money does not feed your soul. In Mexico, I have a lot of time to think. During the forty minute drive to school, at school, waiting for my parents to pick me up, etc.  All that before lunch time! I’ve started to think about what I want to do with my life. I know, I know- going abroad to “find yourself” is really cliché, but it’s cliché for a reason. Anyways, recently I have been telling people that I’m going to be a pediatrician, well that’s the first thing I say after “I don’t know, yet!” It’s either that, or an oncologist or a teacher… I think. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll just be a world traveler, fashion designer, doctor, journalist, and pilot.

                I’m not really worried that I don’t have my life planned out to a T just yet. The truth is, I don’t want to just grow up to enter a career. I want to grow up to be happy, to have fun, and to do something meaningful with my life. If that means I have to cut out some of the so- called essentials in my life to save my pennies and follow my dreams, then that’s what I’ll do. I plan on coloring outside the lines, and living my life for me.

                I’ll leave you with one more quote. T. Alan Armstrong said, “If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you.”

                If you’re looking for some inspiration, I recommend checking out this blog, http://www.startsomethingthatmatters.com/ ,written by the founder of TOMs shoes. If you don’t know what TOMs are, look it up now! We can all make a difference, as soon as we set out minds to it.