Is talent meant to follow passion?
Or the question I have asked myself three times in the course of one week.
I can't remember a time where I wasn't happy to be writing or reading and I don't remember when this love for it started. I only know now that I'm passionate about it. The thing is, I don't know if I'm talented enough. Which begged me to ask the question is talent meant to follow passion?
If you came here for answer, I'm sorry I don't actually have one. I mean I Googled the question and all I got were some answers in forums and people making speculations. And the reason for this is quite simple: no one actually knows the answer. We'd all like to believe that talent should, by logic, follow passion. You're passionate about something, therefore you should be good at it, right? Wrong, the world doesn't work like that sometimes. Sometimes our passions and our loves are completely different to what we're good at. Which makes me ask the question: am I really a good writer? Do I have the ability become like one of the greats? Or, do I lack the talent to go after my passion? Three of the biggest questions I keep asking myself. I keep doubting myself and I keep thinking that I'm not good enough. I keep thinking that the passion's there, but the talent? Nope, I lack the talent. I mean, reading over my stuff and when I'm writing, it still feels like I'm in Grade 9 and that maybe, just maybe, Grade 9 was the peek of my talent.
I look at myself and I see the efforts that I go to to be a better writing. I keep not one, but two journals. One where exclusively my stories and creative ideas and another where it's my thoughts and experiences. Plus, I have another notebook where I keep writing advice and snippets from articles that help with plot and character development. But, I feel like I'm constantly having to prove myself to people, to my friends and family, but mostly to myself, that I am good at writing. That I'm not mediocre. I mean, there's a reason I keep bringing up the topic of writing. It's not to remind others, it's to remind myself. I have to constantly remind myself that I do have a dream and that that dream could be real.
Anyway, I don't know if I have a talent, because no one's really told me that I have a talent for writing or that I would be a great writer before they find out that I want to be a writer. Basically, what I'm saying is, I don't know if people genuinely believe that I'm good or if they think I'm good because they see the passion in me. And passion is strong and loud and a whole lot of other things, but passion doesn't always translate to good. I'm young, I'm eighteen and I've still got my life ahead of me, but I feel like I don't have a talent. Well, not a talent that could allow me to push my passion aside. And I don't know if it's because I've always focused on writing and anything to with it that I haven't had the opportunity to find out if I have a natural born talent for something else. I'm between deciding on careers and none of them sound appealing to me for various reasons, but the main reason is that I don't feel like I'll be happy. And I know happiness isn't a driver in this world, I mean I'm basically a dreamer who's forced to think like realist because this entire planet is run by money. And don't tell me otherwise because for my entire high school career, I've been told to go to university, get a decent degree, get a job and then you'll be able to live your life. In this day and age, there's no time for gap years or indecision. You have to make the right choice and you have to make it now. And university costs a lot. I mean you have to be willing to sacrifice an arm and a leg just to get your degree which will get you no where, so you'll have to study for a further three or four years getting the money from god knows where to get a job. But I digress.
I haven't answered my question and I'm not sure I ever will, but maybe I just have to believe that talent and passion can coexist, even if they're not for the same thing. I'm not ready to give up my passion just yet and, while it may not be the biggest motivator, I will work to making it a talent. Because, if there's something that I've learnt, passion can't be changed, but talent, talent doesn't always have to be natural born.
If you came here for answer, I'm sorry I don't actually have one. I mean I Googled the question and all I got were some answers in forums and people making speculations. And the reason for this is quite simple: no one actually knows the answer. We'd all like to believe that talent should, by logic, follow passion. You're passionate about something, therefore you should be good at it, right? Wrong, the world doesn't work like that sometimes. Sometimes our passions and our loves are completely different to what we're good at. Which makes me ask the question: am I really a good writer? Do I have the ability become like one of the greats? Or, do I lack the talent to go after my passion? Three of the biggest questions I keep asking myself. I keep doubting myself and I keep thinking that I'm not good enough. I keep thinking that the passion's there, but the talent? Nope, I lack the talent. I mean, reading over my stuff and when I'm writing, it still feels like I'm in Grade 9 and that maybe, just maybe, Grade 9 was the peek of my talent.
I look at myself and I see the efforts that I go to to be a better writing. I keep not one, but two journals. One where exclusively my stories and creative ideas and another where it's my thoughts and experiences. Plus, I have another notebook where I keep writing advice and snippets from articles that help with plot and character development. But, I feel like I'm constantly having to prove myself to people, to my friends and family, but mostly to myself, that I am good at writing. That I'm not mediocre. I mean, there's a reason I keep bringing up the topic of writing. It's not to remind others, it's to remind myself. I have to constantly remind myself that I do have a dream and that that dream could be real.
Anyway, I don't know if I have a talent, because no one's really told me that I have a talent for writing or that I would be a great writer before they find out that I want to be a writer. Basically, what I'm saying is, I don't know if people genuinely believe that I'm good or if they think I'm good because they see the passion in me. And passion is strong and loud and a whole lot of other things, but passion doesn't always translate to good. I'm young, I'm eighteen and I've still got my life ahead of me, but I feel like I don't have a talent. Well, not a talent that could allow me to push my passion aside. And I don't know if it's because I've always focused on writing and anything to with it that I haven't had the opportunity to find out if I have a natural born talent for something else. I'm between deciding on careers and none of them sound appealing to me for various reasons, but the main reason is that I don't feel like I'll be happy. And I know happiness isn't a driver in this world, I mean I'm basically a dreamer who's forced to think like realist because this entire planet is run by money. And don't tell me otherwise because for my entire high school career, I've been told to go to university, get a decent degree, get a job and then you'll be able to live your life. In this day and age, there's no time for gap years or indecision. You have to make the right choice and you have to make it now. And university costs a lot. I mean you have to be willing to sacrifice an arm and a leg just to get your degree which will get you no where, so you'll have to study for a further three or four years getting the money from god knows where to get a job. But I digress.
I haven't answered my question and I'm not sure I ever will, but maybe I just have to believe that talent and passion can coexist, even if they're not for the same thing. I'm not ready to give up my passion just yet and, while it may not be the biggest motivator, I will work to making it a talent. Because, if there's something that I've learnt, passion can't be changed, but talent, talent doesn't always have to be natural born.
