Was your passion something you chose or something that was urged upon you?

By passion, I’m thinking of some creative activity you do. It could be your work, an avocation, a hobby, an artistic pursuit, or whatever. I’m wondering how you got into it. Was it something you had to fight for, or was it something someone put on you, and it kind of took.

I was thinking about how I picked up the trumpet. I can’t remember if it was something I had to convince my parents to support, or if it was something they expected me to do. I remember when I was in fourth grade, someone came in to demonstrate all the instruments, and after I heard the trumpet, I knew that was my instrument.

It has brought me much pleasure and meaning and spirituality over the course of my life. My life would be so much less without it, except I wouldn’t know what I was missing. Making music keeps me whole. It contains my soul. It is what I would be doing full time, if I didn’t have to care for a family and myself.

So what about you? What’s the story of your passion?