13. From New Hobby to Passion

Huston-Tillotson University 2022 Texas

It is the year 2022, and in July I took part in a two-week exchange programme focused on entrepreneurship education, organized by 3 Day Startup.

We spent the first few days introducing ourselves and getting to know the other participants. Talking about our passions. Discussing ideas. Giving three-minute monologues about ourselves. I never knew what to say about my life, but a lot has changed in the last four years.

My monologue went something like this:

Hi everyone, my name is Andjela Cegar. I am 22, and live in a small town in Lower Austria. My mother tongue is Serbian. A year ago, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in “Corporate Communications”. I have spent the last four years volunteering and working at over a dozen sports events across Europe. Making memories. Learning new things. Discovering my passion. My passion for sports. Being part of the world of sports has given me a purpose and a passion that my 18-year-old self could only have dreamed of. I love the ups and downs that come with the beautiful chaos of sports events. I love connecting with people from all walks of life. I love the exciting stories that I get to tell my friends and family. That’s me and my life summed up in sentences that don’t frustrate me anymore.

One thing that won’t change is my struggle to come up with a fun fact. Here we go. My fun fact is that in the town where I live, there is a gaggle of goose sculptures scattered in various places, each with a specific theme. The goose outside the bakery wears a “toque blanche” (the bakery equivalent of a chef’s hat), while the one inside the bank is covered in coins [insert sound effect of geese gaggling].

Who would have thought that frustration could turn into a new hobby, and a new hobby into a passion? Certainly not me four years ago, when I was desperately looking for events to volunteer at to escape my sanctuary, otherwise known as my room, where my frustrations, insecurities and thoughts kept me trapped between four walls.

Weeks, months, and years went by, gradually changing me and my life. Four years, to be precise. A journey similar to that of a butterfly’s metamorphosis. For a butterfly, it takes days, weeks, and months to develop from an egg to an adult. Four stages, to be precise.

Good things in life take time.

Or require a trip to the nearest ice-cream parlour. Or a simple Google search.

Sometimes both.

Google search: Volunteering/working at sports events across Europe.

And so, the journey continues.