I often lose sight of who I am and put my passions on the back-burner. I don’t know what causes me to do it. It’s just so easy to not have to worry about anything. It is hard to keep up with everything I love. My passions take a lot of work and time, but that doesn’t mean I should constantly ignore them. Are they passions if you do?

Speaking from personal experience, I think they are. I’ve gone through the majority of my early twenties with significant credit card debt. That has always been my main reason for not pursuing the things I love; these things cost money.

When I younger, living at home and working full time, I could afford to spend paychecks on new albums, postage, things I like to collect, zines and chemicals to develop film and photos. I had the space to have my own (temporary) darkroom and all the room in the world for mail art supplies. Then I moved out and everything changed!

So, how do you stay inspired and keep doing the things you love?

► If you can’t afford to do something right away, save up for it! Admittedly, I’m very awful at doing this but you should definitely save up for the things that make you happy in the long run, rather than those things that give you instant gratification.

► Find other people who are passionate about the same things you are. The internet is the easy way to do this! I love following blogs about mail art because it gives me a look into the processes of other people. It inspires me, even if I’m not directly doing it.

► Don’t procrastinate! Set aside time to do these things. I used to study programming and German in the beginning of this year because I had a schedule to do each daily, and made sure I set a timer to remind me.

► Recognize when you need a break. When I find myself putting things off for another day, I know that is when I need a break. Schedules are easily tossed aside, especially when life throws curve balls at you (like getting sick for a month!). Just make sure to come back to your schedule!

► Do something inspiring every day. I participated in the Month of Letters challenge and wrote 1 letter every day for the entire month. It was definitely a challenge but it was so inspiring. I love writing letters so why don’t I write them every day?

► Make it easy to do the things that inspire you. I’ve always loved photography but I don’t often take pictures. Whenever I’m out and about with my analog camera, I can’t stop taking pictures. It just feels natural!

► Do it. The strongest advice I have for being, or getting, inspired is to do whatever it is that you love. I find that when I start collaging an envelope, I don’t want to stop. It’s just a matter of just going for it. Once you start, you will not stop!