My passion revisited

My last posting was in May last year and although I've been meaning to update my blog since then, I never quite got around to it. It was even one of my new year resolutions, but yet, I still managed not to update it. Well, things happen for reasons at the right time, don't they? Our CCO has requested us all in the creative department to start a blog. I wondered if my blog is little bit too personal and "religious" to be shared at work, but since it had to be about our passion, I decided to stick with what I've got and be myself.

Back in the day when I started at my former agency over a decade ago as a junior art director, I had no time of my own because I was working every minute of my waking (and sleeping) hour under pressure. I also had nothing but debt, since they knew I couldn't quit to get a better job elsewhere because of my green card process, so they kept me at a very low wage. I felt that my choices were either going back home to Japan where I knew I wouldn't be happy living, leaving everything I had worked for in NYC, or stick it out no matter how miserable I was. So I stuck it out, because at the end of the day, I loved living in this country dearly and I needed a green card to maintain doing so. Words cannot describe how rough it was, but I got through it somehow without being sent to a mental institution. After 8 long years with lots of valuable learning, I finally got my green card. I was finally free. I was free to do whatever I wanted to do. H-1 Visa limits you to work only in the field of your degree (and mine was advertising), but a green card allows you to pretty much live as any other American citizens except you can't vote and a few other things. As tortuous as it was, obtaining a green card was a huge goal of mine and I focused on it so much that I didn't allow myself to explore what made me happy as a whole person. It was all about "when I get my green card.." and was barely about the present moment that I was in. So I had to revisit who I was with new found freedom.

Since then, I've been working at my current agency for the past couple of years where it's OK to have a life, which took me a while to get used to. All of my activities used to involve making myself marketable when I finally get to quit. Although I still continue with my career-improvement education, I'm grateful to also have discovered things that I feel extremely passionate about outside of my work. I'm even certain that some of them will be my lifetime commitment. So perhaps this is a good time to review my passion, old and new, as who I am today.

1. God (My reason for being here on this planet earth to even have passions after all.)
2. Archangel Michael (My guide and protector)
3. People
4. Visual stories (Telling them and experiencing them)
5. Exploring houses of worship around the world (It's exiting for me to learn about architecture, symbolism and catechism.)
6. Food, particularly introducing inner-city kids to healthier yummy food (I lead a project called Culinary Explorers with New York Cares every Friday after work. I sincerely enjoy teaching teenagers cooking and sharing a dinner table with them.)
7. Classical music, especially Bach by Glenn Gould (His music got me through some of the toughest times and has always helped me focus on what's important in my life. Bach was a part of the reasons why I converted to Christianity.)
8. Tennis (It's almost an obsession at this point.)
9. Capturing New York moments with my Leica (Especially Harlem, where I've been living for the past decade and have been in love with.)
10. Animals 

All of these passions keep me extremely busy, but incredibly fulfilled and allow me to truly live in the moment. I have so many pictures sitting in my hard drive, waiting to be shared. I'm ever so grateful for the life I get to live now and don't take it for granted in my journey.