Passion

          I love to feel my heartbeat. I’ve noticed that in certain times when I am doing something that I love and things that I am passionate about, my heart pounds slow and steady, pushing harder and harder against my chest each time. Something that I have carried throughout my entire life is an iron passion for the things that make me me. When students at Hebron Academy got to know me, they most likely thought, “Why the hell does this kid go to a preppy boarding school in New England? He’s a hick.” I think it’s absolutely hilarious when people like Bill Wang and Marcus Mcbean jokingly call me a hick because they obviously haven’t met the rest of my family as Ben English knows. A lot of people see me that way because I always have had an incredible passion for things like NASCAR, ice fishing, and hunting, and many see those things as boring. Why would I want to watch forty cars drive in a circle for up to 500 miles? Why would I want to stand outside on a frozen lake in freezing cold snowstorms? Why would I want to hike for miles so that I can sit in a tree stand for hours on end? Why, because there is nothing more thrilling to me than those “boring” things. I have always had a passion for those things and that passion will forever be by my side.
I have grown up watching NASCAR my entire life. I went to my first race in Loudon, New Hampshire when I was five months and twenty-five days old, and I haven’t missed a Loudon race ever since. There is an incredible nostalgic feeling that takes over all of my emotions whenever I get close to the track. Sitting high up on the sun scorched, metal stadium bleachers with a bird’s eye view over the entire track is serene yet thrilling to me. There is something about sharing a common passion with thousands of other fans at the race that is too challenging to put into words. Standing for the national anthem at the race and seeing three jets soar overhead as everyone hoots and hollers patriotic screams is amazing. There is nothing like the atmosphere of a NASCAR race. Hearing the sweetly ear piercing roars of every car engine starting up makes my heart pound again. I’m always on the edge of my seat nervously hoping that my favorite driver pulls through in the final ten laps. I carry this passion around wherever I go and love having conversations about NASCAR with the only other person in school that I know somewhat enjoys the motorsport, Ross Leblond.
My other two passions are ice fishing and hunting. I have always been told that you need to have an acquired taste for these two things, so I guess I’m starving. I barely even notice the cold or the wind when I am out on the lake ice fishing. I’m sure many people experience the same thing when they do things that they love too. It is easy to enjoy yourself out on the ice because a few of my favorite things come together. I get to spend time with family and friends who share this passion of nature, fishing, and enjoying each other’s company. Everything going on around you seems to be irrelevant when you purely enjoy yourself, and I can even relate that to hunting as well.
I have never been bored when I hunt which even my grandfather think is odd and he has been hunting for his entire life. I am able to sit in a tree stand from 5:30 in the morning to 4:00 in the afternoon and not get bored. I get to take in all of the nature around me and there is nothing more relaxing and peaceful than that. When you’re out in the woods you can visit the same exact spot thousands of times, yet it will always be different. Some people hunt and get bored because they are only in pursue of the animal. That upsets me because I think it shows a lack of respect to the animal and it’s home, the woods. Hunting season occurs in the most beautiful time of the year, fall, which makes it easier for me to take in nature’s beauty. I get to walk around mountain tops and towering hills that allow me to see blankets of red, orange and yellows that coat the trees for miles and miles. The serenity of being alone and hearing only the sound of the wind and your own breath is a feeling that only few people get to experience. Even if I don’t see a deer or turkey for weeks, it is all worth it in the end. Once you spot the deer, adrenaline takes over and my pounding heart beat returns once again. All sounds drain out as you focus on the animal and the rest of you takes over. My great grandfather always told me that I have to enjoy the beauty of the hunt, and if you end up getting a deer it’s only a bonus to the gift of the woods. My great grandfather and grandfather helped me acquire this passion for hunting that I will always carry as well, but it is much more of a passion for the beauty of hunting.
I love things that some people despise. People call my passions boring, but they might not take the time to appreciate those things like I do. I will forever carry a passion for those things with me.