Hello again, trust that you all are doing quite well. Today I will be sharing my passions, yes passion with the added letter S. Is passions the plural of passion, hmmmm, but mine are more than one so I go with passions. Ha ha.
All ye English major geeks, I top my hat to you, please let me off on this blunder, if it is. OK moving on, I want to air my views on the prompt by 
Passion to me is more than just value. Passion is an intense desire for a goal or goals. As you sleep it, breathe it, walk it, talk it, smile it, rock it, dance it, and all that.
But it's still something so much more. I am passionate about so many things that it scares me.
I also feel that as one gets enlightened either through life's experiences or through education, passion grows. Yes, it increases in size and weight. I will be sharing the things I am passionate about in life in three of my life stages and experiences. Here goes...
At 5 years old I was passionate about helping sick people get better and so I discovered that I had to be a doctor to do that. I was truly passionate about it. I made up my mind to study, become a doctor build my hospital and help every sick person I know or come across.
All this in my 5-year-old mind. I was inspired when I watched a movie, which was about a doctor refusing to help treat a sick patient, and unless the patient's family paid a deposit amount first, and during intense pleading with the doctor to go ahead and treat, the patient died.
I was so hurt just by watching that movie that I became passionate about helping sick people. You do not need to ask, the movie is a 1995 Nigerian movie. I can't remember its title anymore, but its effect stuck with me since then.
At 15 years of age, I discovered that I was passionate about teaching people things, especially things I taught and felt they did not know about. I was not guided at all. I simply gathered little children who could not go to school and began to teach them the things I had been taught in school.
The look of awe on their faces and the happy smiles they each had after every session was so motivating that I carried on, coupled with the fact that their parents praised me for those acts of selflessness saying it was superb.
Like I said I was not guided. I never knew what I was doing, and knew so little at that time. I never knew It will one day be a pointer to my gifts and career paths in life.
The society where I grew up was more or less like a slum, filled with Malnourished and impoverished people that wanted their kids to dream big and break the jinx on their families.
Certain occupations or aspirations were deemed as not being good enough, one of them is teaching. I remember times without number whenever I was asked what my future aspirations were and I told them to be a medical doctor, they applauded me but when I talked about teaching, it was a different thing entirely.
I was also passionate about changing the world, doing things no one had ever thought about or maybe even done before. But most importantly, I was and still am passionate about helping humanity. I mean doing the things we do with someone or some people in mind. Mother Theresa already championed that course and I am following suit.
Remember I said life teaches you things, well life did for me. I ignored my passions, followed the status quo, and ended up wasting time on unfulfilling ventures.
It took years before I realized that I was not fulfilled, like something was missing from my life.
At 22 years old, I took the bold step of following my passion which I now know has been my divine gift, the gift to enlighten, to teach. I am so passionate about enlightening children, counseling, and guiding them on the journey of life. Letting them know that life is doable, especially with certain resilience and skills.
I always enjoy it when these youngsters come to me for one piece of advice or the other or to seek answers to their seemingly tough questions.
Also, my 5-year-old passion for helping the sick has been modified to helping as many as I can reach helping, by enlightenment.
I have come to understand that many are bound by ignorance not just illiteracy so the cure to this is simple, KNOWLEDGE.
It is known that knowledge is power and only the knowledgeable thrives with that power. I once came across a quote many years ago that states
"The pen is mightier than the sword". So true.
I cannot overemphasize how much more my life has transited on a fulfillment spree.
I have spent more than a decade enlightening lives and the rewards are immeasurable. There is nothing else I would rather do right now. It's like I come alive every time I have the opportunity to teach. It flows from within and I can say that I feel my blood bubble up with excitement.
I am still learning and want to learn more so that I can be powerful knowledgeable and wise.... But much more than that, I am learning for the sake of the little ones who are still coming up or yet to be born so that I can have a chance to enlighten them as well.
Another one of my passions is writing. I was always taunted when I was much younger for having an over-creative imagination.
I loved to bring things to life in my mind. I love to write because sometimes I feel words are not enough and also that there are times when I get stuck on what to say. I mean what is in your head is not coming out that way from your mouth, so writing is one of my best channels of communication.
I tend to pour out my emotions into what I write. It seems writing and teaching go hand in hand, pari passu. I get to do two things I enjoy the most and even get paid for it.
Lest I forget, there are still two more things I am passionate about and it is singing and cooking, yes cooking. I am a foodie, I love homemade foods a lot and I love to get busy in the kitchen.
Here in Nigeria, we are surrounded by diverse cultures which in turn exposes us to a variety of finger-licking foods.
Speaking of singing, oh wow where do I start... I remember actually to have been inspired by Celine Dion.
I remember that I would karaoke to her songs till I knew them off the heart. I also remember singers like Brandy, West Life, Backstreet Boys, and the king himself Michael Jackson.
These singers helped inspire me with their beautiful songs and now I cannot do without singing. I love to sing. Singing brightens my day. I sing anywhere and at any time. When I feel blue, I sing and my mood cleats, and my day is brightened. I think I can call it a wrap here.
Stay true to your passion. Passion is life. Peace.
"All images used are mine".
Thanks for reading.