How Following My Passion Saved My Life - Pt. 1

*This is Part 1 of a Two-Part Series …

Following my passion helped me through some of the toughest times in my life. In 2007, my corporate career ended when the investors pulled out of the company and the company closed its doors. I was laid off with no idea of what to do next. This job was a big deal...it was my first real job on my career path out of college, and it was a big job, so moving to something else just seemed so “less” and during this time, I grew deeply depressed. I wasn’t particularly excited about staying in the corporate world, I had gained about 20 lbs and I was missing a crucial part of me that had always been in my life….dance. 

After performing and dancing through my college days, I continued to teach until I took this job. But I felt, when I got a “real” job, I needed to put that life behind me and move into the next phase of my life. But that life proved to be pretty miserable. Around this time, the big buzzword at the time was to “follow your passion!” 

Basically, if you weren’t following your passion, that thing that you were truly meant to do in life, you weren’t really living and would never make anything of your life. How “extra” we were in 2007. So what was that thing? For me it was dance….I missed dance every day. All I could think about was dance, choreography, performances, costumes all while I sat under the glare of the corporate office lighting turning a paler shade of pale. Where the corporate world seemed like darkness, dancing was my ray of sunshine...it was life. So I thought, I need to open my own studio! Yes, I need to open my studio and dance again, I need to train dancers, I need to be my own boss! That is my passion! So...I did. 

My depression immediately began to lift. When I danced, it simply released all of those endorphins I had been missing on a daily basis. Dance had been a part of who I was since I could walk. It was more than an activity, it was my being, it was in my soul. Taking dance away from myself felt like I had cut off my own arm. 

As dance began to lift me out of my soulless slump, my life around me was beginning to fall apart. It was 2008 and the world was burning. We were beginning to lose everything, jobs, homes, I couldn’t have got another job then if I wanted to. Trust me, before following my passion, I tried. It was not good. As a result, my husband who struggled with addiction fell into a depression of his own, and on top of that….we were pregnant! How was he going to provide for our family? How was he going to support my passion? How was he going to be a dad in this hot mess we found ourselves in? Well, he didn’t do it well...his addiction took control and we were on a roller coaster of fear, anxiety, and chaos. 

When I went to dance class and began to move, all of those fears were washed away. For those few hours of teaching and brightening others’ days, I was able to let go of the problems in my own world and give so much joy to someone else. I could see the future with my baby. I could stay home and be the mom that I wanted to be and still come to work at night and live my dreams. It wasn’t just a ray of light during dark days, it was my saving grace. 

What is something that you have been missing in your life that could ignite that same passion in you? It doesn’t have to be your livelihood, trust me as you’ll learn in Part 2 that following your passion doesn’t always equate to success. But it could be the difference in your mental health, it could bring you the joy that you need when life doesn’t seem so joyful. It could be something that brings joy to someone else. When we give to others, it's very difficult to focus on ourselves and continue to obsess about our problems. Finding that spark can ignite love, passion, compassion, and could quite literally save your life. What is something you always wanted to try that you could start today to ignite passion in your life? Do it. And don’t for one minute feel guilty for giving this gift to yourself. You are here to live authentically….and there is no room for guilt when following your passions.