"As soon as your feet are planted on the floor, the early morning that grasps that extra amount of time your sleep has sacrificed for you is put into action. Another individual may reach over and grab a stopwatch from their bedside, already working their body so that their muscles are prepped and ready for what the day has to offer. Instead, you grab anything with a keyboard, or perhaps the more traditional way of a notepad and pencil. You are supplied and ready, despite skipping the bathroom on your way to the kitchen because every second counts, especially first thing in the morning. Another person may start their day off with a breakfast that provides the proper nutrients needed to keep them healthy and strong in order to meet their goal. Instead, you stumble over to a small corner of the kitchen where the coffee pot is waiting, ready to be filled.
Your eyes are still fuzzy from those short six hours of slumber and your mind is foggy in regards to being used for so long the previous night. Your favorite mug is still steaming as you walk to your workstation, almost ready to become a fully functioning human. While the other person may slip on their trainers and take part of their morning to go around the block, you kick off your slippers and sit down into the comfort of a cushion. Your cup is still hot but your tongue has accustomed to its temperature because your mind craves to be fueled and it enjoys making the other parts of your body do what it desires. You rub out the last bit of sleep-induced haze from your eyes and take one more sip before opening the laptop. The screen flickers on almost immediately because you never fully shut it off ⎯ not when deadlines are creeping closer and the need for every spare moment to count is essential. Your drink is now abandoned because you remember exactly where you left off and you need to put the words down before they dissolve into your subconsciousness. Your fingers are put to action immediately, working their muscles just as hard as the ones used to keep the other person on their fifth lap; they have seven more to go before meeting their daily goal. This number may seem insignificant compared to your seventeen-thousand but the effort and work is all the same.
It has only been a short amount of time since you stepped out of bed, but as soon as your fingers touch the keys, your body has become rejuvenated and your senses are fully aware of their surroundings. You begin; either watching the numbers grow higher or ignoring the word count altogether because a story needs to be told and the protagonist has yet to meet the evil dragon. Slowly, numbers become inconsequential compared to the phenomena taking place within the screen or on the page; just as the stopwatch becomes meaningless when the jogger makes it to their final lap. Their muscles burn as your fingers ache, but you ignore the pain. With an deep inhale, you both take a breath because passion and perseverance outweigh the small voice inside your head that makes you question whether or not all of this is worth it.
Yes, you tell the voice as you make it to page three. Yes, you tell the voice as sweat trickles down your forehead and you stop to give yourself water. Yes, you tell the voice when your mind starts to wander over to the tempting webtab that only results into meaningless scrolling. Yes, you tell the voice when your heart is beating faster than your legs could ever move as you reach closer and closer to the finish line. Yes, you tell the voice when the doubt and negativity tries to creep its way in as you read the scene you thought was groundbreaking.
Yes, you say over and over again because this is worth it. It has to be because it is your desire and it needs to be fulfilled. You no longer tell yourself otherwise because living in passion exceeds living in the void of regret."
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This piece was written for a college application essay about what I am passionate in. I suppose this is directed towards the people who don't think writing takes the same amount of effort as it does for someone who plays sports or has other "realistic" hobbies. I've never been much of an athlete but over the course of time, I have come to realize that all who have a certain desire can relate to one another. Even though writing is one of my passions, for this piece, I wanted to show that all passions (whether it is a sport, writing, drawing, acting, etc.) take the same amount of time and energy to reach their goals.
