Finding their passion

It’s a typical Thursday afternoon for sophomore Carson Howe, during which he reads up on German history from the late 1800’s, and current German politics. He exhales, and picks up a new book on his favorite topic. He sits down and begins to research more about his passion, German history.

Passion is something everyone feels, according to a study by the University of Stanford, and something that can be found or created by anyone. Passion can even be hereditary, shown through the same study.

Howe, sophomore, found his passion for German history through his great-grandfather and it has become something very important to him.

“My great grandpa fought in the Second World War, and when he came back he brought some books with him,” Howe said.

Through his family, Howe found his love for German history, and has continued to study and read up on current German politics.

“I read through a lot of current German politics, so I can stay up to date with my homeland,” Howe said.

Before his great-grandfather went to Germany in WWII, his family already had history in Germany, adding to his reason to continue studying Germany as a whole.

“I’m mostly German, so it gives me a thing of insight into my past.” Howe said.

This insight is very important to him as he has spent a majority of his life studying German history, and a great amount of time each day-upwards of three hours daily.

“[I’ve spent] about six years studying mostly the German Empire, from lots of different authors,” Howe said.

Six years of reading adds a lot of information to his extensive knowledge of German history, and his reading has reached many authors and topics.

“I read books by the same few authors about German history, and for a few hours a day.” Howe explained.

For Killian McEvoy, the passion for tennis is a newfound one, and has become very important to him.

“I started tennis freshman year, and it’s really fun, and something I have put a lot of time into it,” McEvoy said.

McEvoy has found his passion for tennis, and has found it in a very unique way.

“I found tennis through a friend of my dad’s and enjoyed it a lot, so I decided to give it a try.” McEvoy said.

According to the aforementioned study by Stanford University, finding passion is more or less stated as something impossible to find alone. The study concludes that finding passion is very difficult for most, not being discovered until late in life for most.

Finding passion for McEvoy was much easier than for others, as it was just introduced to him by a friend, rather than discovering it by himself.

“I didn’t think I would like tennis as much as I did, but was really surprised at how much fun I’m having,” McEvoy said

His love for the sport was found after he was introduced to tennis, and he has steadily grown in his love for it.

“I’m not amazing, but I still like playing a lot, and put a ton of time into practice and playing.” McEvoy explained.

Kendall Borjes, politics enthusiast, has had the passion for politics ever since the 6th grade.

“I was just watching a political YouTube video by accident, and decided I didn’t agree with the ideas they had, so I researched and found my beliefs.” Borjes said.

According to a study by Stanford University, teenagers tend to find their passion at age 16, which is a pinnacle time in growth as a teenager. This postdates the time in which Borjes found his passion.

For him, the ideals that he found were those that he still doesn’t agree with, but he has kept up with his politics.

“I know more about politics than my dad, and even went to the Trump rally in Springfield” Borjes explained. “I’ve always liked politics since that day, and hopefully I continue to like it, maybe even turn a career out of it.”

For Borjes, he has attended the dream of many political supporters, a rally for the president, one that is especially influential for young political supporters. If Borjes loves politics enough to make a career out of it, then his passion is something that is insurmountable.

“For me, politics isn’t just a passion, but something that I love. I put a lot of time into research and keeping up with daily,” Borjes said.

If something is important enough to keep up with it daily and to put time into it everyday, then it is important, and truly a passion.