You walk into the coffee shop. The familiar smell of ground coffee beans permeates the space and you can’t wait to have that first sip. You watch the customers in front of you place their orders. You haven’t thought about yours because you’ve done this a hundred times. This is routine. You know what you want.

You reach the counter and the barista asks what they can get for you. You know you have dozens of choices and for a split second you might even consider something out of the ordinary. Maybe you should order the mint mocha. Oh, but the latte is your usual. Seconds have passed and you’re pressured to give an answer. Reluctantly, you play it safe and order the latte, surrendering to perpetual normalcy.

This is life. Well, not exactly. It’s a coffee order. But it’s like life. We’re constantly confronted with choices and we have to determine whether to play it safe or take the road less traveled. You truly can do anything you want. Anything at all. But things like rent or mortgage payments, student loans, those cute boots you couldn’t resist, and your damn latte get in the way of you pursuing your passion. Aside from lacking funds, you think maybe you can’t do it, or you simply don’t know what that first step is.

Well, first you have to figure out what you’re passionate about. Something inside you already knows the kinds of things you’re naturally drawn to. Think about what makes you happiest. Make time to figure it out. Experiment. Read. Try anything new. Read some more. Take a class. Watch someone else do what they love. Use it as inspiration.

I’ve figured out what I love most. I love writing. I also love talking to people about what they love and what they want to make of their life. How exactly I might marry those two things together I’m not sure of yet.

I’m a hobby writer. I have this little blog and I post every now and then. I took a writing class this past summer and I’d love to take another one. I continue to make promises to myself about a future point in time when I’ll take some kind of action to turn my hobby into something that I can pour my heart and soul into every day as a livelihood. That point in time continues to be pushed forward and I’m afraid that if I don’t just commit then I’ll never incite any real action.