Personal Information

Name

Passion Rutledge

Bio

“I was born by the river in a little tent, oh and just like the river I’ve been running every since”. Whenever people ask me to describe myself I always think about Sam Cooke’s 1964 single “A Change is Gonna Come”. My friends call me a hippie. And though I have no plans to buy tie-dye t-shirts or let my eyebrows grow out any further than necessary, I know exactly what my friends mean. My mind never stops racing, running away from society, conventional thinking, and anything ordinary.

For a long time, my thoughts even tried to run away from me. The structure of high school often left me feeling caged in. I couldn’t think about things that I wanted to think about. The teachers told us what to think about. But higher education gave the mental space I needed to run freely.

I am in school for learning sake. I don’t wish for any amazing job or social networking opportunities; I just love thinking. I spend so much time inside my head my frontal lobe should charge me room and board. The psychology and journalism departments at Temple University invest a lot of time in teaching me about the world, yet the bulk of everything I learned here is about me. I never really thought I had a mantra until college gave me an opportunity to examine the way I live and plan to live my life. People often give themselves mantras—words, phrases, inspirational quotes that tap you on the shoulder gently and remind you it’s okay to be who you are, it’s okay to dream, it’s okay to take risks. In my life God comes first, Love takes second, and music always places third because it’s the only form of expression that penetrates the mind even without permission. My goals and aspirations, my relationships, and iPod playlists all fall in line with this edict without much effort. And If I play my part right my mantra, my way of thinking will change the world one day.

History

Member for

2 years 37 weeks

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