Passion Projects — Their Importance and How to Start Your Own
- Sophie Nguyen
- Jun 28, 2021
- 3 min read
Pretend that you are a manager and you're reviewing applications for a job opening, and ask yourself this: would you accept a high school student who’s been involved in the debate team and student council, or would you accept someone who’s devoted nearly three years to developing environmental policies and planting trees in their local neighborhood? The latter seems like the better option, and that’s exactly what the college admissions committees are looking for. This is a common case of well-rounded vs. spike students, which is important to understand when discovering your personal theme and navigating the four years of high school. Instead of merely developing a common, mainstream student profile, it would be much more beneficial to find your own sense of individuality — one that would set you apart from all of the applicants. Some of the most prestigious universities want to accept students who will delve deeper into their interests as well as exhibit traits of leadership, initiative, and curiosity.
First and foremost, the most important step is to reevaluate your current situation. Although participating in a wide variety of clubs is impressive, you wouldn’t be able to highlight your passions or core values. In order to hone in on specific activities, you should cut out the ones that would be considered participation trophies. You would free up your time and narrow your focus on the extracurriculars that truly matter to you, eliminating any distractions taking place during high school. For example, if you despise the yearbook club yet dedicate around 20-30 hours per week, it would be best to abandon it due to your lack of interest. This way, you can ensure that you’ll have enough time to focus on this singular project rather than a multitude of side jobs.
Brainstorming your passion project is the next step, and while it may seem like a tumultuous process, working out the nitty-gritty details will be worth it in the long run. Formulate a mission statement about your goal, target audience, and why you’re doing it. The last aspect is key, because it will show your genuine concern surrounding the problem in your community, whether it’s about the overuse of plastic products or how many students don’t have access to an adequate education. After figuring out your academic goals, you want to think about the format of your project. Are you interested in leading a non-profit organization? Do you want to create an information website or blog instead? Your decisions are all preferential, but the main purpose is how you would like to inform your audience and instigate a conversation from there on out.
Once you jumpstart your passion project, the last aspect you need to take into consideration is consistency. In order to exemplify your true commitment to the passion project, you must work on a regular basis, whether that’s daily or weekly. Even if you’re devoting a few minutes of your time, it will make a huge difference in the quality of your project in the end. As mentioned before, it isn’t supposed to be a side project that’s left alone for long periods of time, so it’s imperative that you’re absolutely passionate about your topic. It’s common to lose motivation over time, which can lead to burnout and frustration. However, consistency is important to track your progress; it will drive you to reach your goals beyond the surface level.
Initiating your own passion project is not solely meant to impress colleges but rather let you take pride in your growth. It’s a marker of your personal development, and you’ll ultimately have a new profound sense of accomplishment. The gained confidence will allow you to become a role model and inspire others to follow in your footsteps in the future. By emphasizing the things that interest you the most, it shows how you’re capable of contributing much more to your community than the average person.
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