Dual Passions

Passion. We all have something we're passionate about. Something we could discuss for hours. Something that defines us. I've always had two passions, art and writing, and people knew. I'd hear, "Yeah, Lain, that girl who's always doodling in her notebooks," or, "Oh, that chick that writes a lot...and likes it.". Silently I'd continue scribbling in my notebook, but somewhere inside there was a part of me that smiled. I love being defined by my passions. It's almost a...stamp...of honor. Worthiness, perhaps. Being branded an "artist" and "writer" was always a source of pride.

Still, had I been told I'd be attending Indiana Wesleyan studying to be a Graphics Design major I would laughed in that person's face. For one, a Christian college? Don't misunderstand, I'm proud that I'm a Christian and being saturated in a Christian environment doesn't bother me a bit. But I've had my experiences with Christian schools, and none were good. Still, I could accept that with a little convincing...but an Art major? Now that would have sent me for a loop. As much as I love art and expressing myself in a creative manner, I've never taken a formal high school art class, as opposed to Honors and AP English classes I'd taken in pursuit of my writing passion. The reasoning for that? Well, good class or not, if you don't mesh with the teacher, you're bound to have difficulties. On top of that, they didn't offer a course on what I was really interested in: Computer Graphics. Sure, they had one through the local career center, but taking it meant dropping a lot of my AP courses. I was so sure that I was going to be a journalism major that I didn't even consider cutting those.

Often, as we find out, God has other plans for us. So, I sit here now, currently a Graphic Design student (who's minoring in Creative Writing), and I think: I've been put in a position that I can still chase after both my passions. My love for each is equal, and I'm hoping to find a way to mix them together within my career. That's exciting. More than anything I want to take the passions that God has given me and apply them in a way that glorifies him. So maybe I'm not where I expected myself to be, but I'm where he wants me.