Lorena P. Hernandez ENG 125.065 Essay 2, Word History and Analysis K. E.

Allen October 7, 2010 Something I Need To Find Passion is a word that we learn early on in life. The problem is we never get the chance to learn the true meaning behind it. After many different experiences, I have learned that the meaning of words are shaped by the geographic space, the culture of the people using them, the story behind the word, and the people that are trying to define it. I have discovered that no word has only one meaning, and every meaning has its own importance. Passion is the perfect example. A word that I knew a long time ago, but that for strange reasons it is now that I acknowledge its importance. A couple of weeks ago I was in a medical school seminar for undergraduate students. The purpose of the seminar was to answer questions about acceptance into medical school. In this seminar, the Dean of Admissions from the medical school, here in the University of Michigan, talked about the requisites for admission to this respectable graduate school. After mentioning the minimal academic requirements: GPA, required classes, shadowing experiences, etc, he talked about, qualities that they like to see in their applicants. He said, I want you to have a passion and to follow it. I want you to do something you love; dont do a major just to get into medical school. Do something that you wake up at five in the morning and feel excited to do. I sat confused for a while, as questions started popping in my mind. What kind of passion is he talking about? I have never felt excited about waking up at five in the morning to do anything. Where and when am I going to find a passion? I felt like I knew what he meant, but at the same time, it felt like it was almost impossible. A couple of days passed, and while dealing with all the homework and classes I had to take, there was always a point where I kept going back to the Deans unusual advice. I did not have a passion that I knew of, and I felt like I had to find one really soon. The word kept haunting me,

and I started to feel that I was missing something in my life. There was a part of me that felt incomplete. Later, between the craziness of classes and extracurricular activities, I decided to write this paper about passion, a word that apparently might decide my fate of getting into medical school. I want to know what it is about this word that seems to be taking control over my life. Understanding the true meaning of the word passion, I feel will give me guidance for my future. The first thing that comes to mind when I think about the word passion, from direct Spanish translation passion, is a common social meaning. Passion is a feeling that comes with a very intense, emotional relationship (Dictionary.com). It is said that in order for this feeling to be possible, love most be present. This means that passion is a combination of very strong feelings towards that person, including the feeling of love. Society knows very well this meaning; we learn it when we are children watching Disney movies. We see the prince and princess passionate about each other, willing to risk anything to save each other from harm. Even though what we learn when we are children does not reflect reality, it sets a base for a strong and magical definition for the word passion. A more specific and realistic definition is a combination of the irrational feeling of love and the desire for pleasure that comes with it (World English Dictionary). Based on this, passion is a combination of love, desire, and the natural human need for pleasure, in which the last two mentioned are also an important part of the etymology of the word. The word passion comes from the Latin passi that meant sinful desire, for what at the time was considered a taboo in society, sex. As we can see, these things relate to each other, telling us that passion is the combination of both love and desire. Every definition that the word passion brings up has a strong meaning. Still it is hard to connect this back with what the Dean of Admissions said. I still do not understand why does a medical student need passion in his or her lives.

In the Bible, there is a completely different meaning for the word passion, one that is related to what people want to avoid, suffering and death. In that time, passion was the suffering Jesus went through, before and during the crucifixion. This is better referred to now as the passion of Christ, a phrase used to specify the meaning of passion in this context (Oxford Dictionary). Also, from the Old French and Medieval Latin the word was defined as physical suffering or martyrdom. In this context a complete opposite meaning is revealed. A meaning related to the agony and excruciating pain that Christ went through for humans, as the Bible says. Even in this context, there is still a deep feeling of love and emotion. The only reason that Jesus had to suffer through crucifixion was the deep and eternal love he had for humanity. Even between different contexts of the word, there is always a point where that deep emotion is brought up. There is another way of connecting these two meanings of passion. The intense color red, for example, can be related to both them. Red can symbolize love, and lust, but it can also symbolize blood, pain, and suffering. Even though, one is the feeling that everyone wants to experience at least once in their lives, to be loved and desired by someone else, and the other is the literal meaning of suffering, incarnated by only one man in this world, there seems to be an emotion that connects this two meanings. Passion is able to project the thin line between what we consider heaven and hell. This line is so thin that it makes us realize how easily we can end up in either side. Pursuing a passion can bring up vulnerability or hurt you immensely. This is why many people are scared of being passionate. What can give us the greatest happiness could also destroy us. It is a personal decision whether to take the risk to pursue happiness, knowing that it might have negative consequences. This tells us that part of passion is the willingness to take the risk to pursue that happiness. Only a truly passionate heart is willing to take risks. I realize the importance

of this characteristic in a doctor, and therefore in a medical student. A doctor has to be passionate about what they do, and has to be willing to take risks. This is the basis for a medical career. There is another definition that opens up even more the meaning of passion. In philosophy the word is defined as, any state of the mind in which it is affected by something external, such as perception, desire, etc, as contrasted with action (World English Dictionary). This definition is not only very confusing but also so broad that makes, any small feeling or emotion of our everyday life related to passion. This tells us that passion can be brought up by anything that calls our attention, or cause a reaction in us. The perfect example of this is music. In my personal experience, listening to a song can bring so much emotion and excitement that can affect the way I experience a regular day. It makes me feel better, and it brings emotion to anything that I am doing. So passion is related to the things can make us happy, that can change the way we live for good. We can take from these definitions that passion means a huge or exaggerated amount of feeling, good or bad, for something or someone. When it comes to the broader aspect that we talked about before, we can include things we like or enjoy, things we are interested about, things that have called our attention and that we seem to not be able to avoid. A career, a hobby, a game, any activity or thing that can fascinate or attract a persons attention can be considered a passion. Society considers this aspect of passion to be, when you put more energy into something than is required to do it. It is more than just enthusiasm or excitement, passion is ambition that is materialized into action to put as much heart, mind, body and soul into something as is possible (The Urban Dictionary). This might or might not involve love, risk, or physical suffering, but it still involves that willingness, that emotion that we have for something, one that combines irrational feelings with reason, and strangely in this case they do not contradict themselves.

I finally understood what the Dean of Admissions of the Medical School was trying to say, and the reason for recruiting passionate students. Passion is something, an object, activity or person, which brings a strong emotion that you just feel, something that makes sense to you even though it might not make sense to anybody else. A passion is something that you love, and that you are willing to take risks for, something that might bring lots or little suffering but still then, your feelings do not change, just like the passion of Christ. A passion is something that you follow, something that can make you feel fulfilled, anything that can bring you the pleasure of living life. If passion did not exist, the world would be an uninterested, emotionless place. A German poet once said, Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion (Hebbel). Passion is the origin of everything you can feel, and it is the reason for the creativity and originality of the human being. Writing this essay made me realize the many passions that I have, the interest and need of becoming a better person in every thing I do, and the willingness to take high risks to achieve my goals.

Works to Cited Dockspy.Passion. The Urban Dictionary. 17 Jan 2006. Web. 4 Oct 2010 Hebbel, Christian. Passion Quotes, Think Exist, Thinkexist.com. 2010. Web. 5 Oct 2010 Passion, n. Oxford English Dictionary. Sept 2010. Web. 4 Oct 2010 Passion. Dictionary.com. dictionaryreference.com. 2010. Web. 4 Oct 2010 Passion. World English Dictionary. dictionaryreference.com. 2009. Web. 4 Oct 2010