CREDIT: CHRIS MISZCZAK
Fall in love with life, and follow your passions whatever they may be.

I am certain that for a lot of people, this will raise some eyebrows, as this story begins in the operating room.

It was there that I was able to be a part of something exceptionally rare, as I was able to see a surgery up close. Something changed that day so many years ago, it was almost like God was tickling the back of my mind. It meant something, it lit a passion in me like no other.

From that moment, there was no question that I fell more in love with life. It felt like that I could accomplish anything, do anything that my heart desired, I felt like a true prince of this world. This is probably why when I went to the University of Western Ontario, that I felt that I could handle the workload. Not only did I learn some very powerful life lessons while there, but the experience also rekindled a love for telling stories that I forgot that I had.


Thus, it was from 2012 to 2016, I probably spent more time in the UWO Gazette office than I probably should have. I still look back at my time there very fondly, being the illustrations editor and graphics editor during that tenure. In what time that I did have, I wrote articles for sports, op-ed, arts, and even news. I still have every article that I published during my time there hanging in frames on my wall; every article published was a new lesson, a new milestone, another way to communicate with an active audience, but more importantly another huge accomplishment.

Even when I was working at Autodata Chrome Solutions from 2016 to 2020 I published a few articles in their newsletter “In the Fast Lane.” The passion for writing never truly left me, so I knew that once 2020 came around that the timing was right, not only to enroll in the public relations and corporate communications program here at Fanshawe College, but that I would also want to dedicate time towards wanting to write for the Interrobang.

The moment that I saw my name under the Interrobang masthead under the title columnist, my heart swelled because a dream that I had since high school was accomplished. Ever since that time, I told myself that one of the goals of my life was to be a columnist.

They often say that one cannot trade thank-you’s, appreciations, or I will be your best friend at the store for groceries. However, each article that has been written, that has been read, that has inspired someone else in some way, is its own reward. It has been its own investment for the future.

Spreading that sense of wisdom means so much. A friend that I made along this journey recommended a book called Nudge, Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness. I am glad that she did because this book provided an entirely new perspective in terms of how to think about the world, changing it for the better but in smaller, gentler, and subtle ways. This is a philosophy that I think is kind of lost in the world today.

At the end of the day this is more then just about appreciation; this is about providing some sense of wisdom, compassion, empathy, well-being, and critical thinking to a readership. In some small way, making the world a slightly better place then how I left it. This is what drives me, every morning and why I even decide to write. Who knows who might read what I have to say, who knows what effect that inspiration will have on someone else?

This might be the last article that I am writing for the Interrobang, it certainly will not be the end of the journey. That question that I must pose is what drives you? What makes you get out of bed in the morning, why do you do what you do? I offer this advice, to reflect on what core values are important to you. Imbue them on your heart, print them out on a piece of paper and tape it above your bed. Let your values drive you and guide you into a wonderful, rich, and fulfilling future. To quote Steve Jobs “If you are working something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.”