A limb obstructing my path threatened to turn my bike’s momentum into a deadly force as I rounded an abrupt corner coming down a treacherous mountain trail. It was a trail I had traveled a number of times before and only a day ago I had encountered no debris on it. The limb had come up so fast that I had little time to react. Evasive action was necessary to avoid certain injury since there was nothing I could do to stop myself. Going around the limb would cause more harm than running into it since it’s length covered the trail and the protruding branches were like spikes. I decided the safest option was to slide my bike under it. It was only two and a half feet off the ground. The friction of such a slide would reduce my speed quickly and allow me avoid the massive solidity of the limb. I was successful! I recovered with only my left leg and torso scraped. While this story may sound as though it came from a physics horror book, it is one of the most extreme experiences I’ve had while pursuing an avid passion: mountain biking.
Fun activities, such as this, have taught me a lot about other areas of my life. Luckily, a previous fascination with day- trading had taught me to think fast. If I had decided to maneuver around the limb, instead of under it, I could have sustained a serious back injury, possibly impeding my ability to walk. The quick thinking and realization of the importance of risk- taking I had learned from day- trading probably saved me from certain injury. On a less dramatic, but no less important level, I also enjoy reading, writing, trading stocks, web- page design, art, tennis, hiking, camping, and computer- aided drawing, among other things. Trading stocks, tennis, and art, however, are the three activities that I’ve learned the most from and are such as definitive part of me that I would consider them passions.
Diversification, the Federal Reserve (and of course Alan Greenspan), asset allocation, equity, economic indicators, bid and ask prices, and stop limit orders are only a fraction of the terms and concepts I have sought to understand as I involved myself with trading stocks last summer. Recently, concepts such as the fundamental and technical analysis of stocks have been the focus of my endeavors. Books like Technical Analysis Explained by Martin J. Pring, have been an invaluable resource for these analysis- related topics. But, I have also learned a lot of other things not directly related to the buying and selling of stocks. 401(k), IRA (both Simple and SEP), inflation, money market accounts, and my net worth have all
been topics I have studied. As a result, I am actively restructuring my own finances to realize the maximum potential of my earnings.
Tennis is a sport I have diligently challenged myself to improve in. As a result, I have become a better team player and can communicate more effectively with team members in any situation. I began playing the sport my sophomore year in high school. Determined to gain a spot on the tennis team, I participated in an Addidas tennis camp at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. There, I met people from all over the world and amended my tennis skills enough to make the team. Improvement in the sport is as much a part of my life today as it ever was. I have participated in various tournaments and adult leagues. In high stress work situations, I am effective in communicating with co- workers and working with them because of the tough situations I faced in tennis (e.g., tie- breakers). Now I feel that had I not gotten involved with the sport, I would be a far less effective communicator.
Creating art is the passion that has taught me the most. I have entered contests and shows winning various awards with the intent of showing people what I can do. It is a definitive part of me and I have challenged myself to improve in creating art as much as I can. I am now versatile in mediums like pencil, ink, watercolor, oils and acrylic paints, charcoal, computers, oil pastels, clay, and plaster. Creating art has taught me to be proud of what I do. Having people judge your work can be very intimidating. This has taught me to have confidence in the decisions I make in art and all other areas of my life. Art has also taught me to create inventive solutions to various dilemmas. Many times my grade in college art classes depended on the solutions I made to resolve artistic dilemmas. As a result, projects given are finished with highly creative solutions that I might not know how to apply if I had never gotten involved with art.
I’ve pursued all of my passions with two objectives. The first is to benefit psychologically from them. All activities I’ve listed provide me with some relief to life’s stresses. The second objective is to learn as much as I can from participating in an activity. I know that when I learn about and improve at a particular activity I gain skills in other parts of my life. Sometimes the hobby evolves to a passion that I feel is part of what defines me. As a result, I become a person who is a little more knowledgeable than he was before he started. And isn’t that what life is all about?
