What Passions Look Like

When I was eight years old, I used to lie in bed at night waiting for everyone in my family to go to sleep.

Then I would quietly sneak outside and enter my imaginary world.

This was my favorite time of day. Underneath the corner street light, my world became a brightly lit stage.

I became a beautiful, world-famous actress performing to thousands of ardent admirers. Into the quiet of the early morning,

I would sing and dance with total abandon.

There on my street corner stage, I felt truly alive and free.

Whenever my aunts and uncles came to visit, I always made sure Dad had me dance and sing for them.

How my sister and brother hated me whenever my father gathered everyone in the living room for my Broadway show!

At that moment, Mickey and Johnny would run out the back door in total embarrassment.

After all, I couldn’t sing on key and I didn’t know how to dance.

Yet my love for performing in front of anyone far outweighed any insecurity I might feel in the talent department.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I would entertain anyone who came to visit.