You know those personality quizzes you used to send around with your friends that had the most ridiculous questions?

Like, “What are you thinking about right now?” “Who was the last person you hugged?” “Backstreet Boys or NSYNC?”  Even without the promise that my crush would kiss me in 10 minutes if I forwarded the email to 347 people, I made up my own personality questionnaires and nerdily filled them out, page after page in my preteen journal. Nerdy. Socially awkward and a little self-obsessed. Yeah.

There was that one question, though: “Describe yourself in one word.”

I hemmed and hawed over this one for years, peeps. (I take my personality quizzes very seriously.)

I finally settled on ‘passionate.’

I get giggly and equally excited about sales on grapefruit and dreamy business ideas. I squeal and clap my hands and laugh far too loudly when no one else does. I pour my heart and soul into the things I do–when I’m into it, I’m thinking about it as I go to sleep and first thing when I wake up. I find so much joy in unique rocks and full rainbows and the nuances of love between a newly engaged couple and a pair who’ve been together for 50 years–I love living and life.

I’m overwhelmed by how overflowing this world is with awesome. I feel gleeful waking up every day, brimming with possibility and purpose and a healthy dose of artsy angst.

It’s what keeps me photographing, creating voraciously, writing, reading, exploring. It’s also what keeps me changing my hair every couple months and procrastinating not out of laziness but out of waiting for something better, forgetting details and being all around bad at logistics and burning my stinkin’ tortilla because I got distracted writing this very blog post–but we can pretend it’s all positive for just a second.

All this–passion, vivacity, joy–it’s how I see the world.

That shows up in the art I create.

Although my mother did inform me that ‘passionate’ contains another *ahem* meaning that I might not want to be advertising to whoever and their dog, I still hold that it has to be my word. This isn’t the cover of a trashy romance novel, mmk? It’s joyful, purposeful living with soul.

SO hey. Bring yourself back to email chain letter personality quizzes and tell me what your word is in the comments below! Explain if you wanna, or don’t. I can’t wait to know!

If you wanna party on with the passionate peeps and receive free tips for creatives as well as secret sales and special offers in your inbox, sign up below.

Email

First Name