What Are You Passionate About?

What are you Passionate about?This question comes up over and over again. I am passionate about design and I absolutely love every aspect of it. When I was a young child I'd always play as though I was an art teacher. If you asked me what I wanted to teach, I'd say Art. However, adults frowned upon this. I was discouraged not to go into teachings."Teachers don't make money," they'd say. "Why don't you go be a doctor, or an engineer, teachers get abused."My love for teaching is connected with my love of learning. Right now I'm on a path of going down the rabbit hole to understand what design thinking is all about. I'd love to go to the  Standford d.school, however  - and this is where doubt creeps in - I'm not sure if I qualify. Matter fact I recently read an article that most women don't apply for positions if they don't feel 90% ready to take the job. Where as men even, if they don't know the role  well, they present themselves as confident of being able to do the job and they apply anyway. Often I feel intimidated and currently I work with mostly men.My confidence was shattered by a professor when I was in college. Every drawing I presented, every idea I shared was met with, "you suck". This is very much along the lines of what Tom Kelly shares in the book, "Creative Confidence."Other people are quick to discourage and dismiss what it is that you are interested. I'm interested in learning about design thinking and how to take creativity  up to a different level. If you're wondering what I do during the day, I'm a package designer. There are many things I can continue to learn - most of it is technical like how to use the programs and software. There aren't many YouTube tutorials that break down the learning process.Eskco has decided that you need to go to them in order to learn their software basically they have a monopoly over the industry when it comes to packaging. I've been doing a little bit of reading about design thinking and I realize that the learning of design thinking has been made very accessible. I'm looking forward to this journey going down this path.What I've noticed is typically a question is posed and people come together from different backgrounds with unique ideas. I was challended and posed with the question - "how can I use lettering to create impact through design"?This got my mind brainstorming for ideas.Through another conversation I learned of Humans of New York. I've visited the site to see what it was all about. I had no idea someone was going around photographing people to get their story. I've always imagined going around interviewing people out in the streets, see how they ended up there. And if given the opportunity for change what would they do?Often times you see someone begging in the streets and are quick to roll up the windows, lock the doors and get away. What if we went so far as to open our doors feed them, clean them, hear their story and give them another chance at life?I've been  hand-lettering for more than two years however I haven't posted consistently I haven't taken a better photographs, I haven't shared much of my story because I often wonder what was OK to share what was not OK to share. Each day I'm learning it's OK to share certain aspects of your story they don't need all the details and it doesn't need to be in chronological order give them what relates to what it is you want to share and make it relate to your product your service.Today I was listening to the PIA Tour while at work and something inside of me was riled up - it's that very thing that drives me to want to create, design, letter, paint. I could feel the passion that these poets and lyricists were saying and pouring out. You could hear the research that was done for them to put such peice together. These lyricists went in depth with what it is that they had to say - and it made me frustrated that I haven't fully understood what my purpose is, what I am called to do, how to let it pour out of me?I know that I'm gifted to serve, I know that I'm gifted to serve and that I am able to do administrative work, I know that I am passionate about the word and I want to be sure that I'm leading others to Christ with my work. I know that I am part of a bigger plan, that I can't be consumed with myself, I know that I enjoy design and creativity and it's not by accident.Often times I want my design work to support me. I want people to pay me for my design work, yet some people feel that design isn't important, that it's a nice to have, that it's not needed in the world. I disagree. They haven't understood that the bright colors, great shadows - even as I drive home seeing the sun setting to the right and the clouds that have cast a huge grey shadow... causing a beautiful golden cast of sunrays upon the trees even though the sunlight is nearly blinding me as I drive southbound on the New Jersey parkway ----- it's a beautiful scenery I wish I could take a photo for you I wish I could paint this in like two seconds. You would understand my appreciation for art, design and creativity.