I went to pick up my kid from preschool some years back. The teacher told me they had cut out bats from black construction paper that morning, with Halloween on its way. She said my son, though, had become obsessed with the new task, creating bat after bat after bat. He was so engrossed with this activity, she let him continue through ‘circle time’, and the math-related activities later.

He came home with dozens of bats that we stuck all over the house.

I learned from my son, and I learned from the teacher’s response to his passion. I’ve been taking street photos with intense pleasure since 2005, a year or two after I got my first digital camera. It’s a compulsion for sure. I’ve learned that being aware of what truly brings me pleasure supports my mission in life, and takes nothing away.