My Passion

Personal Essay

 

     Trying to decide what I am passionate about; what makes my blood boil, sounded like a no-brainer, that is, until I went to put it down on paper. In thinking about the topic, I realized I have a number of interests that I am very passionate about. The question then became – what should I write?

Naturally, I’m passionate about my transitioning, but I feel, for now anyway, that I have talked enough on that subject and will let it rest.  Another area of interest I gave thought to is painting. I’m still very much a novice and don’t envision myself as becoming the next Renoir anytime soon, but I do love to paint and, when in the mood, I get very passionate to the point of almost becoming obsessed with it. Although, in spite of getting that involved, I can’t say with true conviction that painting is what really gets my blood boiling.

That being said, I’m able to proclaim, without hesitation, that writing is my true passion. I have a love for writing that goes beyond what I can express in words, which I didn’t think at all possible being as I enjoy creating and using words to paint a picture or to touch someone’s emotions to the point where they truly experience the essence of what I have penned. When this happens, it conjures up deep feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction within me.

The challenge of transforming a random thought or a single idea into a beautiful lush forest abundant with wonderfully realistic characters traversing hills, valleys and twisting streams of events all connected and dependent on each other to bring the forest to life is a pure miracle to me. It is miraculous in the sense of feeling blessed with a gift of creating something from nothing. In addition to that, it is rewarding and fantastically exciting for me to watch blank sheets of paper filling up with words, sentences and paragraphs; each segment supporting the one before it while giving birth to new challenges; then nurturing and strengthening them with one sole purpose --- to keep the story interesting and moving forward. When it happens, it is a true reward.

Writing is something I believe I am slowly mastering to a respectable degree. However, in true honesty, I must admit that I still have a lot to learn due to the numerous elements and intricacies of writing.  Nevertheless, I embrace that learning process as it affords my learning capacity to constantly evolve, which in turn makes it continuously refreshing and exciting. As I gain more and more knowledge and my writing improves, my ability to formulate new and more interesting ideas and characters also expands, thereby generating a self-perpetuating reward system.

Lastly, the most enjoyable facet of writing for me is the depth with which I can explore the convoluted and intimate feelings within myself. It never ceases to amaze me how I can delve into the complexities of the characters I create because each one exposes a piece of me in ways that are so different than how I actually live my life. Yet, each one is a fractional representation of my personality that bestows upon me the luxury of getting to know myself more completely as a person.

Chelle Munroe ©

October 21, 2013