Passion Project Tips
Each year, our teachers and faculty offer students various activities to participate in as part of the Green Future initiative.
But what’s the best activity or project to commit to?
Let’s not overlook the most important goal we all share—getting admitted to the university of our dreams. By now, you’ve probably heard that extracurriculars matter. And they matter a lot.
We spend our high school years searching for things we love, eventually finding one or two passions that truly stick, don’t we? Whether you’ve been consistent with them or not, there’s your answer right there. Simple as that.
Maybe I’m just a straightforward person, so that’s the kind of lazy answer you’d get from me (haha…).
The truth is, you can try out all the activities in the world, but chances are, most of them won’t even be mentioned in the later stages of your life. The harsh reality? Many of those hours may not count—at least on paper.
I learned this the hard way—by firsthand experience. I tried it all. Ever since grade school, I’ve dabbled in various activities. Arts, flute, and some ball(though I sucked, pun intended). That eventually turned into Morin Khuur, competitive swimming, and… YouTube? (Let’s just say my local YouTuber era is best left unmentioned these days.)
I liked those things—still do. Then came everything else. Volleyball, piano, graphic design. Arts again, but with different forms, more woodworking and miniature scale car modelling, really. My "classic" is the volunteering era: videography, cameras, running around for that one charger with one set of batteries and SD cards. Guitar, bass, ukulele—everything in between. On stage, off-stage, in FL Studio, PreSonus Studio One demo, or(drum-roll please) GarageBand. Oh, and that post COVID era was all about gyms, judo and pull-up bars.
The thing is, I tried it all.
As a proud Mongol Aspiration student, I was required to take all three natural sciences. And out of the three, chemistry was by far my worst. No matter what, I could always carry myself forward with biology and physics—but chemistry? That was my Roman Empire. Every Wednesday, the moment I opened the 0620 Paper 6 book, my head practically glued itself to the table.
Being the jack of all trades that I was (well, almost—I was a fantastic musician for my age among other things), I chose to commit to the chemistry science fair, completely ignoring my stronger assets. I had a great team and an even better mentor, but I was nowhere near as passionate about it as I am with some of my extracurriculars today—like chess(no humour intended...)
Who actually finds chess exciting? Not a lot of people. But every week, I experience something new and interesting together, with my chess club boys (and the few many girls—excluding Davaa, of course). But I did not find chemistry interesting, and that science fair project basically went to waste in my books with the "Bronze" award.
At the end, what really matters is what you are truly interested in, and how much you have committed to your passion. True passion never dies, or sleeps during classes. My advice is, take years to develop your passion and jump at each and every opportunity that comes your way. Maybe, deep down, you love chemistry but worry it will be difficult—GO for it!
And that brings us back to choosing your passion project.
What could you do that actually aligns with your main game? Your domain!
I love my work as the MAIS TIMES newspaper Editor-in-Chief. Even though it gets tough from time to time, especially when you are involved in multiple projects simultaneously, I always find a way to bounce back. So when I heard about the upcoming passion project season, my mind instantly flooded with a hundred different ways to integrate the best of this club with the other projects on the table.
Good luck! don’t sleep on it. Opportunities don't grow on trees and so does your ideas. It grows in your heart. And it begins with a P.
