Alondra Delgado, CCC-SLP: Hi, my name is Alondra Delgado, and I am a Speech Language Pathologist at the Pediatric Rehabilitation Outpatient Center. I'm excited to share with everyone some of my own passions and finding your own passions in life. I am an artist at heart. It's something that feels very natural to me. I love to paint, I love to draw, and anything crafty really.

I, especially really enjoy music. I like to play the piano, sometimes I'll try out the guitar. And recently I just started a small bell choir. I really like taking on the challenge of learning how to play new instruments when the opportunity arises. Currently, I am reteaching myself how to play the violin which I used to play a while back, but never really kept up with it.

And I am in the process of learning how to play the harmonica. Someone gifted me a harmonica. So I'm like, man, I really need to learn how to play this. So those are my projects for right now. The last instrument I tackled on was the accordion. I had a lot of fun researching about the mechanisms, how to care for the instrument, being able to take it apart, and really just learning the basics to be able to play it, all with the help of the internet and YouTube.

But essentially what I learned from that whole process is that the accordion is this giant harmonica that is disguised as a wannabe piano of sorts. It was a really fun project. What I really find special about art is how universal it is. You can see it in every culture. It's used to display history, demonstrate culture, make connections. It's powerful. We see in religions in some form, and it has the power to heal, which I really, really enjoy practicing in all aspects of my life. Art and music are some of my biggest passions, but you don't have to be a musician or painter.

Passions come in all shapes and forms. There's the passion for baking. There's a passion for creating community. There's passion for making others feel heard. It can also be as simple as the art of exercising, like running, taking on a big project of sorts. So I encourage everyone to go out there, find your passion, practice it, make time for it, but most importantly, share it with others.

That's the neat part about all these hobbies and passions is that you can share with others and also bring joy into others lives. So go out there, find your passion, and who knows, you might find something that you really enjoy.

So go out there, find your passion, share it with others. And, thank you guys for having me. And hopefully you find a passion that bring you guys joy.