Bring your passion to the job, even if it might be the worst ever

I love passionate people. Unfortunately, finding a truly passionate person is as common as… I love passionate people. Unfortunately, finding a truly passionate person is as common as ordering a sandwich and getting it made in less than fifteen minutes at the Pete.

There are people who are passionate about sports. They live and breathe competition, and for them, every situation in life somehow becomes a sports analogy. My father is a prime example of this. During a particularly rough stretch in high school, my lack of academic aptitude somehow spurred the lecture, “Colleen, school is just like a baseball game …” Sure thing, Dad.

There are people who are passionate about music. They manage to express everything that is going on in their lives through melody or lyrics. This type of passion is particularly endearing when the possessor is extraordinarily talented. Inborn musical talent is one of the sexiest qualities around. How do you think guys like Billy Joel wind up with chicks like Christie Brinkley?

Passionate people can pop up in a variety of areas — art, fashion, movies, writing … the list goes on and on. I think the kind of passion that is the most interesting is when people can take the most mundane and low-caliber everyday chore and turn it into a task fit to suit the presence of the Queen of England.

Over the holiday break, while finishing up my Christmas shopping and cursing the fact that nothing the people on my list want is ever on sale, I went to use the crosswalk to switch malls from the King of Prussia Plaza to the Court. This is a pedestrian walkway that, during the holiday season, warrants its very own crossing guard to control the ever-present danger that is the traffic patterns of a plethora of Christmas shoppers armed with credit cards.

The crossing guard was a guy in his early 20s who had most likely picked up the job as a way to earn some extra cash between semesters. Now, if it was me or anyone else in his shoes, I probably would have stood there looking miserable, giving feeble gestures to indicate which set of shoppers should stop and which should go. After one day, anyone else would go home annoyed as hell and promptly call in to resign. No amount of money would render such a crap job worthy of the seconds that had just ticked away off the clock of “much better ways to spend time.”

This guy was a different story. He stood there, head held high, a look of fierce determination on his face, and directed traffic as if he was on a mission from the president. The directional signals he made with his arms were crisp and fresh, and not even the most resolute of insane holiday shoppers dared to cross at a time that the guard did not specifically allot to them. The passion of this crossing guard caught my attention, but I was still skeptical. Being the cynic that I am, (one can insert the phrase “pathetic loser” for cynic) I made a conscious effort to cross later in the day to see if this guy was for real.

After two safe crossings, I’m happy to report that this crossing guard was the real McCoy. No irate shopper or gust of freezing winter wind could deter this man from his job. He displayed the kind of passion and work ethic most people could only dream of. To top it off, his passion was obvious even while doing a job not characteristically marked by enthusiasm or zeal — like sports, music or art. The world could use a few more passionate people like this traffic monitor. Just think of how much more fulfilling your day would be if instead of making a trip to the gym seem like a chore, it was suddenly a personal gratification of physical wellness. Or perhaps doing your laundry could go from being a twice-monthly pain in the ass to a celebration of cleanliness and superior individual hygiene.

A lot can be learned from the passionate people of the world. It appears a bit daunting to attempt to make everything that is seemingly asinine into a worthwhile and life-altering undertaking, but the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So go out and, instead of just reading that pile of books on your desk, absorb and retain the wealth of information being presented. Completing even the most ordinary of daily tasks with a bit of positivity and passion could make anyone feel a little more satisfied and useful.

E-mail Colleen Bayus at cab2357@pitt.edu.