Yesterday I had the privilege of attending @TEDxSFU‘s annual conference. This year the theme was #MakeItYours.

It was a TED event, so I think it goes without saying that the speakers were incredible and the learning intense. Equally amazing was the opportunity to connect with new people who were as excited as I was to be able to attend the event. I met a student leadership coordinator from UBC, a special education teacher from a private school in West Van, a grade four teacher from Vancouver who uses #geniushour in her classroom. I connected through Twitter with some of the presenters who spoke to me the most.

But my major takeaway was this: passion. Each of the speakers was passionate about their topic; each conveyed that passion in the words, music, images, and, yes, props, that they brought in to share with us. More than that, however, each one spoke on the need to embrace passion in everything we are and do. The morning began with Chuck Hamilton (@CHamiltonatplay) talking about the future of work. In short, he reminded us that the jobs that will be trending when my students are searching for them will be jobs that haven’t even been created yet – so the best way to know what the future of work will hold is to create those future jobs. For Igor Faletski (@Igorskee), the way to do so is to become an entrepreneur: find a global trend, recruit your friends, invade the US and work for yourself instead of for a boss. Chris Giannakos (@GI_spro) found his passion, surprisingly, in the coffee that he disliked until it was made for him by someone who showed him that coffee is an experience, not a drink (a philosophy, by the way, that I can totally get behind, as my family, friends and students can attest!).

(And that was just the morning.)

The thing is, I want my students to find that level of passion. I talked about this last week when I lamented that when asked what they wanted to learn, my kids had no answer (or at least not one they were willing or able to share in the classroom, which is possibly an even sadder thought). I have so many passions that I have a hard time settling on one at any given time. I need help with – as Phil Hansen said in the TEDTalk “Embrace the Shake” – finding the limitations that will make my creativity limitless.

I want my students to “make it theirs” in my classroom. There is so much to learn out there, and even what might seem like the smallest idea – such as an apple falling from a tree, perhaps? – can lead to the most amazing discoveries. This is why I am trying to learn everything I can about using Genius hour in the classroom so I can implement it this year. I don’t want my students ever to be incapable or unwilling to answer the question, “What do you want to learn? What are the things about which you are passionate; what questions do you have to which you really want to find the answer – or an answer?”

Think about it: can you answer those questions? What is(are) your passion(s) … and what are you doing to #MakeItYours?