If it's one thing I know from experience, it's that you should never let anyone ruin your passion. I've been in crappy relationships, and I've had some bad friends. I've had the people who I thought were close to me and understood my passion tell me to just shut up.
I've talked to countless amount of people and I've witness it happen. They talk about something they love and you can see the fire burning in their eyes. You can see the excitement painted across their face. You watch as their smile grows the more they talk about it. They laugh, they smile, and they glow. Then you see ir. You see the worry in their eyes. You see the glow start to fade away. Their smile slowly falls to a frown.
"I'm sorry," they say.
"It's stupid."
No, it's not.
"It's boring."
It wasn't.
"I'm boring you, aren't I?"
No, you're not.
"I just got so excited. I'm sorry."
Don't apologize.
"I'll just shut up."
Please, don't.
Someone once told them to shut up because they talked about something that they were so passionate about. Someone told them it was stupid, boring, and told them to stop talking. Someone made them feel bad for talking about their favorite thing.
It's happened to me countless of times. Even now, when I get excited about a book or a movie, people tell me to shut up. I do. I actually feel the wall falling between us, taking away my words. Sometimes, I notice while in mid conversation, they turn their attention elsewhere and it feels like a dagger piercing my heart. I trail off, feeling that glow fade. My eyes fall to my hand and all I can think to myself is "I should have just shut up. I'm an idiot."
Perhaps you may think it's stupid, but that person doesn't. They live off it. They're given a spark just thinking about it. Talking about it, trying to share the same feeling with someone gives them a moment of happiness. Don't take that away from them.
Don't ever feel as if you should apologize for something you care about so much. You want to talk about that book? Go ahead, I'm listening. You want to talk about that Television Series? Give it to me. You want to talk about that movie? I'm all ears.
It sucks when it happens to you. It's a horrible feeling. Don't do it to someone else. And don't let anyone ruin your passion for something. If they don't care, don't apologize. Keep loving it. Keep talking about it. Keep feeding that spark. Don't let anyone diminish it.
Keep talking, because I promise you someone is listening.