It’s been a long, hard year so far. A year that I had (and still have) high hopes for has been filled with rocky roads, bumps, and a few cliffs. I have finally caught up on a semesters worth of missed sleep and I am at the beginning of Project Playtime which I have extremely high hopes for. A lot has been going on in my personal life, but yesterday I had a beautiful epiphany for the first time in a while.

Last night I felt the way a person’s energy can change when they are surrounded by positive energy. Reconnecting with high school friends and sitting and talking about things that matter. It was a beautiful thing to be a part of, no mediating or planning necessary. Genuine conversation on a beautiful night in a Chipotle seating area in Hyde Park–period. I had no idea how much I’d missed that.

What really warmed my heart, however, was watching a friend of mine light up about the things he was passionate about. The way he spoke with his entire body and the way he tripped over his words reminded me of how it feels to have a fire burning inside of you–a true passion and desire for something. It was through listening to him talk about the beauty he has found in street photography that made me realize that is what I’ve been missing. I miss the burning sensation in my chest when I think about dancing or creating anything. I haven’t felt that desire to tell the world, show the world, and share with the world something that I love in entirely too long. I have spent so much time dissecting and understanding that I’ve forgotten why I do it and what it feels like to be in my element in its purest form. I just needed to physically see it to understand what I’ve really been missing.

This summer I am finding my way all the way back because if I don’t, I might just lose it all.

Shout out to those beautiful souls I connected with last night, and special shout out to Brandon Doby for taking the featured image as well as reminding me what it’s like to be truly passionate about art from the soul, not just from the mind.

Photo taken by Brandon Doby