Are you doing it just for fun? hobby or passion?

The other day a mother of a 12-year-old boy asked me to teach the little guy since this lockdown has damaged him totally. He does not want to touch the book anymore.

You can send him from tomorrow was my response. The little guy happens to be a smart fellow. Smart in a sense he catch up with things quickly. Days went by I am teaching him on a daily basis. Mathematics, science he is all good at em. He loves writing these eca things in social studies. He is overall a cheerful little boy. He got a good culture. One day I asked him during the class' boy what are you really interested in doing. What do you want to do in the future?  He just responds by saying I don't know and a little while after I gave him classwork. He suddenly smiles and said I think I want to become a gamer. I smiled internally, a digital influence this day to most of the kids. How can he not get influence?  Is it your hobby or your passion? I asked:

What? What is that? He responded looking at a book.

Do you mean a hobby and a passion? You don't know?

Yes, that thing. No, I don't?

Okay. You wanted to be a gamer in the future right. So tell me do you love this thing? I mean playing games.

Of course, I do. I enjoy every second I spend on it. But I got only an hour or so during the whole day. That’s the only time I can play. I wish I can spend more on it

Okay, so you can do that thing and live the rest of your life with it. 

He paused for a while and said you mean something that I can only do if necessary or as a profession. 

Yes. Can you engage your time mostly in gaming? leaving other things.

He thinks for a while and said no I cannot? I have other things to do.

See I said. So do you really want to be a gamer?

He did not respond. He started doing his classwork and I let it go. 

Days went by I kept teaching him the way he should learn and keep asking questions if he doesn't understand. We are halfway with the math book and computer book by now. So I told him to bring social studies the other day. He was happy about it. So, the next day he looks a little happy. He arrives on time and we started a chapter. After I finished the chapter I gave him classwork and told him to do it quickly. He started doing it. While I was thinking something and was completely lost in my thought he asked do you remember you asked me last time what I really like to do and enjoy doing.

Yes, I remember what I said.

I think I wanted to go to the army and I really love doing art. 

I am going to ask you the same question again. Can you do it for the rest of your life?

He responded quickly ya I can. Since I was a child I really feel great to see this army costume and I really wanted to be on it one day. Whenever I imagine myself in that dress I feel like I have done or achieved something great in my life. My body opens up and I feel like this is it. I really want to go to the army someday. I even speak to one of my brothers who went to army training and I do it a few of them in my home. He smiled: I really love to be in it. I also love to draw. I am not perfect at it but I love doing it. I enjoy watching this beautiful handmade panting they are awesome. They blew me with all the little detailing. I wished I can learn it someday and do it myself.

So that's the thing you are passionate about.

Yes, he responded.

So can you tell now the difference between a hobby and a passion?

I think I can he responded. A hobby is like a thing you do for fun. For a quick refreshment. And passion into something is like putting everything and my all into it. It is something that is constantly in my mind. Something my heart feels or beat on it.

Absolutely. You are a smart man. 

He smiled with grace. I started to dabble into my thought. Do I know this at 12 years old? Absolutely not. Would that be an advantage to me? Absolutely. It is so important to have an understanding between the two. When we ask our self, most of the things we feel passionate about when we were younger are no longer our passion. They were our hobbies. Hobbies change constantly according to the environment, friends we engage our self with. We do so many things just for fun. We mislead our self by saying it constantly that this is it. And later when we find out what our passion is, we are along with others in that race. Where there is no out. This small understanding may be helpful to children. It might help them think differently, help them choose their daily activities differently. And everything may fall in their favor. When we understand about passion, our love on certain work. We need to work on it and need to give it time to nourish and flourish. We really need a habitual daily endeavor to be good at something. Satisfaction and pleasure are our biggest enemy and a friend too. But when hormones are working at their peak it does not work in your favor. A hobby provides us a constant pleasure that is hard to get away with. So, it is so important to make the distinction early before turning a hobby into a career?

Since I believe everything starts with clarity. Once you are clear about things you are doing everything falls into the line we walk. We feel happy and we feel passionate about it. We simply love doing that thing. We can live with integrity and be ourselves completely. Does our school system fail here? Do we talk about it in 10 years of schooling with our children? Talk in a sense a complete detail onto it? Okay, a few seminars on it? I don't think so? I think there needs serious attention here. Many fail at so many things when it comes to career and work. There is also a saying on this as if you like what you do, you may fade away but if you love what you do you will last longer. It is so important for us at this stage of our life to teach the younger children or younger generation what is the difference between a hobby and a passion? serve them by asking questions and let them have a realization.

I hope to see that kid one day proudly standing in the army costume and serve the country. My blood is rushing and I think I felt a goosebump feeling his emotion on that costume.