Pieces of Who We Are—II Meghan

I guess I didn't make it totally clear in the first post that this would be a series.  I may post a few people at a time, but they will be spread out over a few weeks.  I also really want to get some more input from others.  Please email me or comment with your passions and or things that you truly enjoy doing. 

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Last summer, Meghan and I went on a little road trip to visit the Northwest and decide whether Portland was going to work as our new home.  Along the way I came up with a plan to meet and interview people who we met in different places. 

In our searches for new jobs and a new way to live in an economic crisis, I wanted to see what makes people tick, and really where their passions lie. 

The plan didn't materialize quite as well as I thought it might, mainly because there just wasn't enough time to stop in little towns along the way and talk to people.  Also as an interviewer, one must develop a certain amount of trust with the interviewee, especially when discussing something as intimate and private as “passion.”

Even though it didn't work exactly as I would have hoped, I did start the project with a few friends and family members.  I plan to interview more people over the next few months and encourage my readers to explore their passions and possibly send them my way.

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Here are a few responses from people I talked to:

  Meghan is my dear partner and girlfriend who has been with me through the last 7 years.  Both of us came to Portland under somewhat dire circumstances.  And both of us have struggled within this new economy that we are all living in. 

Meghan has an amazing amount of patience and because of this patience she has supported me during our transition and recently taken on a new job with Metropolitan Family Services.

In college, she was on the pathway to become an English teacher, but after watching me go through the credential program and being involved in the education system herself, she realized that teaching wouldn't fulfill her professional needs.  She felt as if the education system doesn't leave any room for one on one relationships between adults and students, and it is too focused on a specific outcome not a humanistic, holistic outcome. 

She has since been involved in different community organizations, non-profits, and parks and recreation programs.  She dives into work head first and does a great job at it.  With the economy the way it is, we have seen non-profit organizations struggle, and she has been searching for a niche that fits her needs.  We both hope that her new job is able to fill that. 

Her response was also in the form of a list:

Down Vests/ Hot Showers/ Making things with my hands/ Green Tea/ Collages/ Cupcakes/ laughing with my mom/ Buying journals/ Sitting in the Sun/ Fresh Flowers/ Farmer’s Markets/ The “perfect bite” / My boyfriend on his good days/ Fountain Pepsi/ Walking on West Cliff Drive (Santa Cruz) Petting Dogs/ Yoga/ My Favorite Music/

Natural Born Lover - Sharon Jo...