There are so many things in this world that make me happy, but only a few of those things that I’m absolutely positively passionate about! The difference is in the drive those experiences gives me to accomplish great feats, the energy I feel when I’m able to do something I’m passionate about, and the eagerness I experience to work in that particular area of my life! I’ve found that these feelings are the strongest when I’m working with one of the following subject areas: gardening, reading, leadership, and volunteerism.
Working in a garden brings me so much joy, simply because it’s part of creating and caring for another life form. You literally have the opportunity to nurture a tiny seed into a large tree, flower, or even a means of food for people. I find that so amazing and am happy to be apart of any process of making that happen, whenever I can. I am currently involved in gardening on campus through the Registered Student Organization (RSO) Campus Grow. We have two gardens and access to a greenhouse, we also work in the science building in the winter, but I love every minute of it because we are giving both campus and the community the opportunity to be more sustainable, ecologically friendly. Also any of the produce grown in our Plant a Row for the Hungry portion of the garden is donated to local food pantries, which helps end local hunger! That alone puts a smile on my face. 🙂
I have loved reading ever since I can remember, it’s always been a form of entertainment for me, until recently I realized just how lucky I am to even be able to read! Literacy is not a right, it’s a privilege and I’m very passionate in my feelings that everyone all over the world deserves the privilege of reading a good book! Books not only provide happiness through entertainment, but empowerment through stimulation of the imagination and knowledge via an inevitable advancement in your vocabulary. Much of what I know today was picked out of the pages of a paperback and I wouldn’t have it any other way, I simply hope that one day I can be a part of a movement to give every person on this planet the opportunity to get their nose stuck in a good book!
I’ve never really looked at leadership as something to be passionate about, it always just sort of happened to me. I would find myself taking over group projects or initiating the study sessions, but I didn’t think I was doing it because I was passionate about it, I have simply always loved to help others get organized and on the right path to work towards their goal(s). However, a short four months ago I joined the Leader Advancement Scholar class of 2013 at Central Michigan University and was thrown into a group of 40 other leaders, which was totally new for me, and also completely eye opening. I began to see that the reason I do the things I do aren’t driven by chance or coincidence, they are done because of my passion for leadership!
My passion for volunteering sort of goes hand in hand with my love of leadership, I believe that if you want something to be done, you need to get up and do it yourself, gosh darn it! This is precisely why I volunteer with so many different organizations, because let’s be real, there is so much wrong with this world and it’s not going to fix itself! I volunteer because I know I have the power to make a difference in the world and I don’t want to sit idly on the side waiting for others to implement the change I know I want to happen in this world! Some of the major organizations I have given my time and talents to include Relay for Life, Kid’s Against Hunger, Jimmy’s Kids Foundation, the Red Cross, the Children’s Trust Fund of Michigan, Salvation Army, and so many more. I can’t wait to expand this list and potentially make my own organization that through the power of volunteers can create some positive change on this planet.
    
Claire's Conclusions 