I was sitting around thinking the other day about people. Not just a person, but people in general and it just surprises me how unique every individual is on this planet. Earth is made up of roughly 7.2 billion people. Each person has their own way of life, a way of doing things, they have passions that defy who they are. Through my long 21 years of life I have met so many different people that have things they are all passionate about that at the end of the day you apply those things with that person. After thinking about people and their passions I thought I would go to my social media and randomly choose people to ask about their passions and how those passions reflect who they are. Each person got the same two questions, "What are your passions? And how do those passions define who you are as a person?" Without further ado, here are the people I had the pleasure of talking to and their passions that make them who they are!
Dorian, A Geek Of Color
Dorian runs a Twitter page called Geeks of Color that focuses on all things geek and highlights diversity inside the geek community. He also runs a YouTube channel called Agent Dorian where he can show off his passions.
"My passion is Youtube and Comic books and highlighting the diversity within the geek community," he said. "These interests make me who I am because by doing Youtube I'm able to be myself and have fun with my viewers. I feel like I'm talking to a friend when I'm talking to my camera and being able to educate people on awesome SuperHeroes and make them laugh or smile is the best feeling. And being able to highlight the diversity within the geek community is awesome because it feels like I'm helping bring change and I love every minute of it."
Erika Ryan, The Artist Behind The Camera
Erika is someone who captures those moments in your life. She sees the beauty in everything and wants to share the beauty with you. Here is what she had to say about her passion.
"I think the creative nature of my passions has highly impacted my life. I have a greater appreciation for humanity and what humans are capable of creating. Seeing a Van Gogh painting in person, the strokes, the bristles still left in the dried paint, it really opens your eyes to history and life in general. I think that because of that I really strive to appreciate everything as much as possible and find the wonder and beauty in everything. I think traveling has definitely helped me have more of an open mind when it comes to other cultures and religions. People are people, and we all believe what we believe based on what we grow up experiencing. Those differences, while scaring others, absolutely fascinate me. I'm much less judgmental because I've seen the differences in people and was taught to respect and appreciate them. "
"Photography has definitely made me more aware of other people's lives and how things affect different people. I've had sessions with single mothers and new parents and couples committing their lives to one another, and it brings up a lot of circumstances that you normally don't think about or wouldn't normally know about people. I have a much higher appreciation for what people go through, and I really think that's made me a more empathetic and sensitive person."
Brian Rutherford, Action Figure Guru
"As I grew older I went from not only collecting figures but to customizing my own. That helped me understand the process of how they work, from sculpt to paint to functionality, which lead me to helping run and eventually become part owner of one of largest online communities geared towards discussing action figures, TheFwoosh.com. We started reviewing toys and reporting action figure news, and that has allowed us to travel to San Diego Comic Con and New York Toy Fair as reporters more than a few times. Last year the other website owners and I put our heads together and planned our very own line of ninja action figures, Articulated Icons. We went through the design and prototyping stages, then successfully got our project funded through Kickstarter. We're currently in the production stage overseas and we're hoping to have the AI line in people's hands before the end of this year. So basically I turned what gave me joy as a child into my hobby as a young adult, and then rolled it into a job later in life."
"Best of all though, I've made friends all over the world. Sure, you can say that the Internet makes that easy to do in this day and age, but I talk daily to guys in California, Texas, and even Denmark. People who I consider close friends. The website and our YouTube channel allows me an outlet to discuss toys with people in Asia, Europe, Australia, and other countries. People from all walks of life and all regions of the planet coming together to talk about little plastic men and women. How we spend too much money on toys, or what paint to use for a certain costume, or what we'd like to see next from Marvel, Star Wars, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or WWE Wrestling."
Brian is one of those guys that keeps toy companies in business. His love for that culture is truly something to admire, it really shows how much Pop Culture has influenced his life and Brian followed his passions and as he simply states:
"I have the coolest job in the world. And it's all because of action figures."
Erin Decker, The Talent
Erin is a talented girl that has worked at Disney and has been doing numerous acting jobs since graduating college. Her passion is inside the entertainment world and she continues to live by that everyday!
"I love performing, whether it's singing acting or dancing. It's a wonderful substitute for therapy. Singing is an amazing feeling especially when it's a song you can connect with. They define who I am by helping me be determined to follow my passions, even when it's hard and even when others think I'm crazy. Some members of my family have been very supportive, others not so much. It's an amazing feeling when you take the next step towards your dreams and you leave the haters speechless."
Austin Bitikofer, Filmmaker
Austin is a young aspiring filmmaker that had already came out with two short films! "The Spoon" and "The Hotel" -- let's see what he has to say about his passion in filmmaking.
"Filmmaking, though I haven't done much in the career yet, what I have done made me pretty happy, It's really the only career I see myself getting intoz I love film, I usually watch at least 1 movie every day if life doesn't get in the way. "
Each person I talked to had this significance about them and it was a special thing to be able to read their responses. They opened up to me on a personal level, these few people are here living on our planet and represent a small percentage of how each and every single person is. Passion is everything and it keeps us going through our lifetime. My fellow readers please do yourself a favor and live your life doing the things you love and surrounding yourself with those things. Never settle for less than what you are and follow your passions and dreams.
