Living A Passion

I am such a binge-watcher. I binge watch Netflix but most importantly – and problematically – I binge watch YouTube videos. I’ll start watching a random interview from a random talk show and then go down this crazy YouTube rabbit hole watching videos and interviews of that person. Sometimes it’s an actor, or a singer, or a writer. Or a vlogger.

Sometimes it’ll get crazy – like when I became obsessed with Mario Casas and Blanca Suarez this past fall after watching them in a show together. After I finished bingeing the show, I set out to watch anything and everything of theirs that I could. Anything they were in on Netflix or Amazon, I watched. Then I watched interviews they did, about their lives and their work. I crushed hard on Mario Casas (I mean…he’s attractive) and then about fell in love with Blanca Suarez (I mean…she’s attractive).

Wait. What?!?! I like boys – men. Plus I’m not the type to crush super hard on celebrities like that.

Then I randomly came across this group called Piso 21, from Colombia, on YouTube. I binged their music videos and their ‘mood’ videos and caught myself smiling. These guys definitely aren’t my type, so that wasn’t it. So it got me thinking, why am I so enamored/infatuated/engrossed in these people and what they are doing?

Living my passion in Barcelona: Casa Batllo

Because they’re doing what they love and it shows.

Boom.

Like I said, I do the same thing with writers and vloggers. I read Helene Sula’s blog religiously, follow Aggie Lal’s Instagram and stories religiously and make a point to watch Ryan & Sam’s videos. It almost feels like I know them.

Because they’re doing what they love and it shows.

Another boom.

It’s a kind of infectious spark, watching someone do what they love and excel at it. It makes you want to be their friend just to surround yourself with their energy and vibes. If you watch interviews of Blanca and Mario, you see how much they truly enjoy acting and how much they work at it and love learning and growing as actors. If you read Helene’s blog, you see how much she enjoys what she does and how much she loves learning and growing as a person, traveler and businesswoman. I could go on and on.

Me in front of the Hollywood sign in LA
Living my passion: Hollywood, California

Because all these people are doing what they love and it shows.

I’m going to call what these people are doing living their passion, because if you ask someone who is incredibly passionate about their ‘work’ or ‘job,’ they won’t say it’s their job, it’s their life, it’s their passion.

So what’s the point, Kristina? What are you getting at?

Well, finally realizing what was affecting me so much really stopped me. I got really introspective for a while. I would come home from work and zone out for hours, just thinking, musing. I’ve been sleep deprived for weeks because it keeps me up and wakes me up in the middle of the night.

All of these people are living their dreams. They are Living Wonderfilled. I mean, that’s the goal, right? To find something you love and do that for a living? To be able to genuinely say you love your life, not just random moments here and there? These people, who I’ve grown to admire, seem to be doing just that.

me hiking in Santorini
Living my passion: Hiking Santorini

So I came to a crossroads. I could either become sullen and depressed in the realization that I’m not currently living my dreams, or I could use these people as fuel to strengthen my drive.

As Christian Simpson said, “It is awareness, not knowledge, that is the secret to success.” Well, I’m aware, so I’m working on it.

Then I got to thinking, there are so many local businesses (and therefore entrepreneurs) in Nashville who’s businesses I frequent. Why not get inspiration from them? And that’s what I’m going to do. As part of my Nashville Spotlight series, I am going to be visiting some of my favorite local spots in Nashville: restaurants, stores, unique places, and talk to the minds behind them. I want to get to know the people behind the business. I want to know how to live their passion!

I’m going to go ahead and say I’m no journalist, but I love having conversations. I can’t wait to see where these lead! Not sure if this is me living a passion, but I’m excited to explore!

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