Sorry, this whole thing about talent needs to cleared up in my head. So here goes:
What is it that propels people to the top? Everyone knows what to say: hard work; if you've got it, talent; and chance. Let's see what Jennifer's got!
1. Hard work. I know this well enough. When I hit Sec 1 I realized what it meant to work my ass off. I was a DSA student and surrounded by people who'd kicked my butt in PSLE. I survived, but only by spending double the time and effort, especially on Math and Science (oh, glad it's over now. HAHA). Likewise, the moment I entered the sport I knew I had very little talent at it. I don't suck at it. I just don't have the extra edge. Everything I have now was drilled into me by going early for school training, taking weekends off to play with Lynn (AHAHA LYNN TAN WE NEEDA MAKE THAT A ROUTINE) and private training (a few years back). If I train 12 hours a week, I get on par with people who train 6 or 9 hours a week. If I study two months before a Physics test, I lose out by one mark to people who study the night before (Sec 2, Block Test 2). I've done the math. It's been that way for years and I've gotten very used to the idea that putting in extra time and effort is the only way to get through this sport. I will never go too far with it because there are too many people out there who work as hard as I do, but just have the extra bit of talent that pushes them over the top. It might not seem like I work very hard, but hard work is a behind-the-scenes kind of thing, isn't it? No one in my class is going to tell you I'm a slacker. I know what it means to work hard. But to be fair, I also know what it means to play hard. I know very well. (:
2. Talent. Okay don't know much of this one. Academics: some for the languages, maybe, but zero for math and science (I get through tests by memorizing every possible question in the book). Sports: NO WAY IN HELL. I got this far by training and doing PT every other morning. And I haven't gone very far yet! Dance: I can coordinate things okay, and I might have some spunk for it, but I can't really tell. You can't go anywhere if you don't have solid ground beneath you. I need foundations first. I'll get back to you about this. In other words, all the achievements in my life has been accumulated and hoarded through hard work. The only thing I might have some real talent for is speech-making. I can keep up in debates--just. And trying my hand at speech competitions was the best decision I made this year. Then again, ironically, I hate debating. Aw nuts.
3. Chance. You need to know what to do when an opportunity presents itself. YOU TAKE IT, DUH. Run a risk, take a chance. I'm not very good at this but I tried out Orator's Cup, right? (Good decision, that one. Totally crazy and completely suicidal, but it worked out. Miracles do happen.) But I'm getting less brave by the day, really. I think it'll take an entire week of JC life for me to get the gung-ho attitude back.
So you need a little of all 3 to get to the top. People like to say that hard work is all you need. Okay, so everyone works hard. But it doesn't mean everyone's gonna hit the mark. Who's gonna get it? The people who work hard and have a gift for what they do. But some of these people still won't make it. They're the ones who don't dare to take a chance and let themselves be known and spotted. Let's be realistic about it, shall we? You do need talent, and you do need chance and luck. Those are the things that will help you whack a homerun, long and far. Hard work is already a given in our society. It's a pre-requisite. It's understood.
So I'm gonna work hard and take the right chances for the things I'm not gifted at but for which I have a passion, and I'm gonna friggin' work my ass off and take friggin' big risks for everything else (to heck with the stuff I don't care about!). There are going to be people who will kick my butt. I'm quite familiar with the idea. But I might as well just keep dealing with it. I will always have a good moan and groan about how it's bloody unfair that some people don't even have to try to be good at stuff, but that's a routine moaning-and-groaning thing (so ignore it the next time it comes up). I won't always try to be as good as the people who are talented, but I will work as hard as they do, in my own way, behind the scenes. It's a good way to live life.
I like the things I do now. I really do. ISN'T THAT ALL THAT MATTERS! I'M YOUNG AND I'M HAPPY SO I SHOULD FLIPPIN' MAKE THE MOST OUT OF IT! THREE CHEERS FOR THE GOLDEN YEARS OF YOUTH! :D
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PROFILE
this is where i let rip, so be warned that you might not like everything that pops up here. but i do, so deal with it. (: .
loves
this is so subject to change that i'm not even gonna bother listing them down.
hates
too many, and the list would be extremely volatile, anyway.
wants
a place in Oxford University (good luck, jennifer.)
for someone to know that he has a special place in her heart!
to survive in HCJC next year
not to have so many wants (but who's counting?)