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Week 3 - Henry BEll

6/29/2016

2 Comments

 
It's easy to get lost in day-to-day activities. Wake up. Brush teeth. Make breakfast. East breakfast. Go to work or school or wherever. Get back home. Go to gym. Bed. Repeat. At times I will take a step back and question it all. What is my purpose in all of this? What am I really trying to achieve?

In doing so, I start to realize the importance of following a passion, something that you genuinely care about. Something that makes you feel like you're a part of something bigger than yourself. I'm not at all going to pretend like I have found my deepest, most authentic passion, because I haven't. But what I can say is that I am trying to.

At the risk of sounding annoying by bringing this up so much, travel has given me a great perspective on all of this. I was able to see prosperous and happy communities, and some that were struggling to get to that point. I started to narrow down what I felt was really needed in an environment to thrive. This came down to health and education, what I see as crucial foundations in any community. 

While abroad, I had the opportunity to teach English and view the immediate impact even surface level education provided. In tourist towns, this seemed like a valuable help to locals wanting to make some money being able to communicate with the visitors. I started to think about what large-scale, more professional education systems could do, picturing the growth of eLearning or other programs providing more than English classes. 

While my passions might change, I feel as though these two areas are ones I can see myself impacting in the future, and I am so thankful to be involved in an organization combining these. Working with Small Batch keeps me motivated on a level beyond day-to-day tasks. I feel like something bigger is going on, and I love being a part of it. 

The other day we had a group dinner at a pop-up restaurant in Corktown. I started talking to one of the student-employees for Small Batch. I asked her how she liked working there, and I was pleasantly surprised by her enthusiasm. She said it gave her exposure and experience in the culinary industry. She's now headed to NYU, and thanks one of the directors Jen Rusciano for playing a part in this. 

Just yesterday, I was at Eastern Market with my boss Jake, talking about the surrounding area. He was outlining what he saw for the future of Detroit, envisioning the immediate area as the central food district. I could tell it was some lofty hope, but a tangible future. 

It feels like something big is going on here at Small Batch and DFA, helping provide healthy food and valuable education to the Detroit community. As I get lost in the daily routine, I remember the larger impact at hand. 
2 Comments
Lisha Wheeler link
6/29/2016 03:29:28 pm

Hi Henry! I think that you hit the nail on the head when you talk about finding something that you are passionate about. And, I agree that our passions change as we grow and change. It took me a long time to figure out what I am passionate about professionally. I have always loved art and drawing/painting and I like to play golf. But, I was concerned that I wasn't sure what my passion was career-wise. You see, I practiced law for 30 years, and while I enjoyed it, I lost the passion around why I wanted to be a lawyer. Through introspection and working at more self awareness, I came up with the fact that I love to talk, and people constantly came to me for all types of advice. For me, this translated into 2 passions: acting and coaching professionals to take action toward their dreams and goals..so last July, I quit my job in a large corporation's legal department and became an actress and a professional executive coach. Keep pursuing your passions and, while they might sometimes challenge you, overall, you will have few regrets.

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Colleen
7/1/2016 10:01:26 am

Henry -- it is so important to follow your passions both personally and professionally! Great to hear that Small Batch is so motivational.

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