The thing that drives us forward. The essence of living stored in tiny boxes of time and effort, but not made by them - another force calls upon the passionate ones. In my case, passion doesn't necessarily extend to just hobbies - although writing is one of them, I'm incredibly fond of reading the works of others. Oh, might as well clarify it now. These paragraphs won't act as defined, fixed works in the form of concepts like essays, short stories or felletions - have you even read the heading? The ink is spilled, the thoughts are with it.
I have a diary that I like to write down my thoughts late evenings. Maybe it's not taking the extra mile like passion could entail, but the consistency in picking up a pen every day at 10PM and putting all your worries to rest excites me...well, unfortunately I wasn't able to find it...precisely I'm too lazy to dig in TOO deep into something of that calibre. Either way, let's hear a different quote for now:
Rock 'n' Roll might not solve your problems, but it does let you dance all over them.
- Pete Townshend
This quote was invoked in episode 11 of the anime Rock is a Lady's Modesty, made by studio Bandai Namco Pictures and based on a manga series written by Hiroshi Fukuda, which aired from April to June of 2025. Lilisa Suzunomiya is the daughter of a woman who has married into a noble family, thus finding herself in an elite all-girls school for raising distinguished ladies. However, since she wasn't born into a rich family, we find out from her recollections that she once player electric guitar, still in her old hole, with her father. Hence, and this being her end goal, Lilisa has abandoned guitar in favour of providing a comfortable life for her mother in this new, dilligent environment.
She aims for the title of "Noble Maiden", the face of the school and the most elegant, established lady in all of Japan. However, her dreams are cut short when one day she meets Otoha Kurogane, the most well-liked and beautiful gi- (yes I thought this was a yuri at first (it isn't)) -rl in the academy even beating out Lilisa herself. Otoha has a secret that Lilisa soon finds about, though: she secretly takes her emotions out by drumming in an old school building after lessons, and Lilisa coincidentally gets manipulated by her enough to pick up the guitar once again. This is merely covering episodes 1 and 2...let's return to my point. By that point in the story Lilisa meets the previous "Noble Maiden", who turns out to be an arrogant, rule-following b*tch despite appearing like a free spirit to Lilisa all the time she's viewed her on the paintings inside the school. Lilisa's passion and escape lies in the guitar - and her emotions wouldn't let her abandon it again. She fantasizes about coming back to that "Noble Maiden" and shoving her middle finger up her...and this, my dear readers, is the essence of passion, in this case rock music. Was this an excuse just to recommend this piece of fiction to you? Yes, absolutely, go watch/read it while it's still hot.
I believe passion stems from a deep admiration for the craft you are forging, combined with an ambition for something greater than what you have already been doing up to this point. It is pushing your limits beyond what you thought was possible, endlessly setting the bar higher and yet still never having enough. Exactly, passion is also all-encompassing - once you push yourself down the rabbit hole, you cannot return. That brings essential happiness that resides in one's heart, lighting up darker moments or even just letting your mind rest.