"What a feeling! I can have it all..."

I watched "Flashdance" for the first time in a very long while. I love this movie because it portrays the steely determination of a young lady who wants to be a dancer and what she must do to get there.
The very first time that I watched it, I had just begun my professional writing career. I also had that determination....and like Alex in the movie, once I got that letter from the publisher who bought my first manuscript, I knew that I had my "in." It took many more days of hard work to get my name out "there," but slowly I could see progress.

When I was young, I had thought that I wanted to be a paramedic. The TV show, "Emergency!" was hugely popular and I wanted to save lives, just like the characters on that show. I took a first aid class in the sixth grade and was learning all I could about this career.
All it took to change my mind, however, was for me to witness a real live nose bleed to change my mind! But it still had its merits. My mom had something wrong with her leg and after I saw it, I urged her to go to the doctor. Turns out that she had phlebitis, just like a character on "Emergency!" had, so it wasn't a total loss. Back in the mid 70's, phlebitis was serious and people sometimes died from it. The drugs available now reduce that urgency, but left untreated, it can be deadly.

In high school, I wanted to be a professional singer. I took choir for four straight years and although I sang in the church choir, I really didn't have what it took to be a star. Onward we go, right?

As an adult, I worked in a boarding kennel as well as a veterinary clinic for over 20 years because I love animals. Although I had to do a lot of pooper scooping, being around animals gave me a sense of satisfaction. After that ended, I had a series of jobs that lead to cleaning houses for a living. Yup, toilet duty. But I did it with a sense of pride, grateful to have any income at all in a tough economy.

Thus writing. I earned recognition through a local but larger newspaper and as I accepted my award, I was told that the best stories come from the heart, or from what the writer knows and is passionate about. Those words sunk in and I have applied them ever since. It's like in school, if I had to write about a topic the teacher expected us to write about, it wasn't near as good as if it was a topic of interest to me.

You need to find the passion in your life, what motivates you to jump for joy? Life can be so hard and our work a distraction unless we have found what it is we wanted to do vs. taking a job just to pay the bills or to survive. In this economy, one needs to do what one can to just exist, but how about a hobby? What is it that brings you joy after work?

 

 It is my hope that you have something or can find something to do that inspires you to get up with a smile each day. For me, reading is always fun, as is going for walks, and working on small crafts. Something that leaves a footprint behind that says, "I'm here!" and that brings joy to yourself. If you have joy, it is only natural to want to spread that joy around!