Me, an Interesting Person?

There's a story that was sent around on Facebook a few years ago, that made me rethink things about those tumultuous teenage years. I'll be paraphrasing, but it keeps the gist of the story. It's the voice of an older adult man who is working on a project with a 15-year-old boy. While they are working together, he asks the boy what he likes to do. The boy responded that he does several things, but he's not particularly good at any of them. The man replied, "That makes you an interesting person."

The reason that made me sit back and think was that I had that same mindset as a teenager, and it really frustrated me. I would have loved to be good at everything I enjoyed, but if not, couldn't I just be good at something? I knew so many people who had at least one exceptional talent. There was my writing, I suppose, but I didn't feel exceptional in that, particularly since I knew how imperfect it was. I'm not even sure how many people knew I did it. But everyone knew what these people could do, and I felt talentless among them. I liked participating in things though. Choir, drama, band, yearbook, and literary magazine were among things I participated in at one time or another. When I think back on this story and what the man told this teenager, I wished a little that I had this insight given to me when I was his age.

As time progressed and I transitioned into adulthood, I did come to meet some people who opened my eyes a little and realized how hard I was being on myself as a teen. Even though I was never exceptionally notorious in any specific talent, I was not lacking in talent at all! I had several people come into my life who helped me see that in reality, I was extraordinarily multi-talented. Ever since, I've been given many opportunities to share those talents with others. I've come to learn that not all of us need the spotlight to be considered talented, and there are many needs for people like me who work best behind the scenes. 

This new service opportunity I have in my church working in the children's organization has already been taking full advantage of the gifts and talents that I have, primarily my writing and making a newsletter. That part has been fun, though I still have some organizational practices improved. I've always been a little weak on that, though everyone thinks otherwise. 

I like to think that I've become a more interesting person; I even like that idea better than being known for being amazing at one particular thing. So even with all the nonsense going on in social media these days, I'm thankful to have this one helpful reminder.

My most recent creation: