Something I’ve found recently is that passion comes from experience – and how you interpret it. As an example, below is the first paragraph from my sociology major application, which was all super-easy for me to write because it just came straight from my “heart” and what matters to me. Maybe you can look at your own past and see themes that intrigue you?

“My life has been an adventure through social diversity. I am fortunate to have experienced an extremely broad range of human interaction: I have lived in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, moved on average every two years, and traveled globally with and without parents, experiencing a variety of perspectives and economic classes. For the first three years of my life I was “severely to moderately” deaf, training my brain with whole different levels of non-auditory awareness. (I’m baffled at how blind people are, sometimes! And then, I’m reminded how deaf I am without hearing aids.) I have always towered above others in a group, currently at 6’5”, which influences many social relationships. I have discovered my bisexual orientation, exposing me to entirely new networks and value systems to consider. My parents, too, have divorced and are now both partnered with women. In academics I have always been an Honors student of some kind, and the half-conscious social dynamics between Honors and “regular” students are amazing. (Or sometimes disturbing.) How could I not be fascinated by patterns of social relationships and organization? I am fascinated with how people form groups, how they learn and communicate, and how groups and their individuals adapt to challenges.”