We all have talents. No one will doubt this statement. At the same time, I am sure you won't disagree with me if I say, we do have interest we like to do. But have you ever put these two entities into perspective? Do these two have their own independent existence?
For many years I always thought that what I am good at are what I like to do and I will be good at what I want to do. One day while discussing about our dream career we want to pursue in life during one of our coffee sessions my college coursemate, who is a tad older with many years of working experience put a complete opposite view than what I thought. I remember I disagreed with her and in fact we were trying to convince each other. Nothing was resulted at the end of the argument. Many years have past. Occasionally I still recall about our conversation that morning. There's still no verdict for that debate.
I must say I am very thankful and lucky since I left home and went abroad for my precollege and college, for all decisions I made regarding my studies and life, I was given full freedom and supports from my parents. My parents like many traditional Asian parents, always set high expectations on their children and want them to pursue a career that is well-recognised and prestigious. In fact the thought of wanting at least one of their kids to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer is still lingering in my parents' mind. When I was deciding for my course, my parents were hoping that I would opt for medical school. I was moved by their thought at that time too. But my rebelliousness prompted me not to follow the trend of the society. Therefore instead of choosing a profession as a medical doctor whom many people eyeing to become one, I selected a course that was pretty uncommon at that time. My parents hardly knew anything about the science profession. Even I myself barely knew any. All I told my parents was I was going to study human genetics (that was my initial interest, but later on I actually ended up in a slightly different discipline).
Am I talented in what I am doing? I don't know. Seriously I am still exploring this part of myself. But one thing I dare say is one of the main reasons I returned to Grad School to pursue this business was I literally feel the need to give it a go before I get too old. I enjoy what I am doing now, which also serves as my interest. When you have interest, you tend to do things with your heart and passions. This little extra bit of effort may substitute the talentlessness.
These few days I have been talking to my little sis. She's now trying to figure out what course she wants to do. She did not manage to escape from my parents' expectations set upon her. I did last time. And now she's bummed. She seems having an interest for legal studies. But she's doubtful about having knack for this profession. My parents are hoping she'll opt for an impressive and a popular in demand course. I understand my sis's situation and I am trying to be supportive. I give her my advice and share my own experience with her. I encourage her to go for her interest and not fret too much about how good she would be.
Apparently, I mentioned about the same issue to my supervisor during lunch chat. She told me a story about two of her classmates.
Classmate A wanted to become a violinist. It took her a long while to grasp the fundamental of playing the intrument. In another words, she's absolutely not Beethoven type of genius. But she didn't give up her dream. Now she's a professional violinist though she's not those grand perfomers. She's happy with her small achievement.
Classmate B couldn't sing but she loved to sing. Unfortunately the teacher did not allow her to join the school choir. She didn't turn out to be a singer or ended up working in any field related to her interest of singing. Yes, I think she didn't have a good voice. But if she were given a chance, who knows probably she could be like Classmate A and be a professional singer or she might have a chance in participating in a part time singing contest and not totally being pushed away from her dream.
If you have talent on something, that's so great! If you have interest on something, awesome, you have found something you like. If you have both, congrats and make full use of them. Life is too short, we can't have everything we want. Be grateful with just what we have and go for what comes from your heart. The end processing is not so stunning, what is considered beauteous is rather the process of experiencing it. With this typed, I should be more confident in pursuing everything I am working on now. :)
♥ every page of my imagination
