What's a girl to DO?

Recently, someone sitting next to me at happy hour asked me what I do. When I fired off my standard, abridged version of how I spend my 9-5 hours, he said, “No, I mean, what do you DO? Like, if you got a day off unexpectedly, what’s the first thing you’d go do?”

I wish I could say I spent the next 30 seconds thoughtfully prioritizing a mental list of numerous activities I find fulfilling. Having no such list, I just stared at him, my glassy gaze enlivened only by seemingly audible blinking. Absolutely nothing sprang to mind.

In an effort to salvage some semblance of character, I eventually managed to rattle off a few things that either I sometimes do, used to do, or have been meaning to do. (In other words, I lied.) But weeks later, the question continues to nag my soul.

What DO I do? What kinds of things do I look forward to? What am I passionate about?

Of course, there are things I like to do. I like to read nonfiction books and I'm always a little giddy to find the latest issue of Us Weekly in the mailbox. I like to listen to music. I like spending time with my friends and watching my dog run at the park. I like meeting new people (yes, sometimes at dive bars). But am I passionate about these things? Are these the things that define me? Are these the things I want to define me?

To find out the answers to these questions, I’ve decided to branch out and try all sorts of new and interesting (hopefully occasionally bizarre) things. After all, how can you possibly know whether or not you’re passionate about, say, cardio pole dancing, if you’ve never tried it?

And that’s what this blog is all about—my quest to find my passion(s). I don’t know if it will turn out to be inspiring or informative, but it promises to be entertaining, at the very least.

An important note: I’m committed to going into this with a completely open mind, which means I’m open to suggestions for new activities. And anyone is welcome to join me on any of my adventures. Even if neither of us finds our passion, we’re almost certain to come back with a good story.

Here we go …