I Want the Passion Back.

I get it now.

I get why I chose journalism as my major. Tonight I had the pleasure of interviewing an 8th grader named Alana about her love of sports, specifically ringette.

We sat down in Southdale arena for an hour and chatted. Just talked about everything from school to ringette to playing sports against boys.

Her big sister sat beside her mostly silent the entire time Alana spoke to me about playing ringette and what the sport means to her. She's 13 years old and already knows she wants to try out for the Canada winter games in 2015. She's 13 years old and knows that she'll be trying out for a spot on the team against many girls much older than her. She's 13 and knows what she wants.

She's ambitious. I like that. I like that she's not concerned with the politics of everything, she just wants to play the game she loves.

I could see how proud big sister Sarah was. She just watched as Alana told me everything she had to share. Her favorite moments this year so far. How much she enjoys "skating faster than all the boys at the outdoor rink." How she knows that she'll have to start training now if she wants a spot on that team.

And then I saw Sarah's eyes light up a little when Alana referred to her ringette team as a "family."

Sarah and I have played on ringette teams just like that. It's amazing to see relationships like that develop at a younger age than it did when we were in Alana's spot. Sarah still plays the game. In fact, she plays in the National Ringette League. I admire Sarah for sitting back and letting her little sister soak up the glory.

(- my older sister would have NEVER done that)

Even though these sisters have never had the privilege of playing on the same team they still share one thing in common- the love of the game.

I saw the passion and drive in Alana's eyes tonight. She was so happy. And definitely in her element talking about a sport she clearly knows a lot about.

Tonight I had a lightbulb moment. The lightbulb went off when I noticed Alana had stopped paying attention to the voice recorder on the table. She was comfortable and ready to open up to me. If this is what being a journalist is all about then I'm on board.

I'm going to bed with a smile on my face thinking back to being Alana's age and not having a care in the world. I also have a new desire to lace the skates up and get back on the ice. My guess is this will happen over Christmas break. Until then- here's my player card at 11 years old.