do you know where you're going to?

“Yearnings reveal the presence of a talent, particularly when they are felt early in life. At ten years of age the actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, already close friends, would find a quiet spot in the school cafeteria and hold meetings to discuss their latest acting “projects.” At thirteen Picasso was already enrolled in adult art school. At five the architect Frank Gehry made intricate models on the living room floor with wood scraps from his father’s hardware store. And Mozart had written his first symphony by the time he turned twelve” (pp. 69-70, Now, Discover Your Strengths, Buchkingham & Clifton, © 2001).

i'm reading this book for work, and in the section this excerpt was taken from, the authors discuss how our innate talents manifest at a young age. while reading it, i thought back to what i was doing as a child.

my passion was writing stories and plays. i also enjoyed interviewing people with my talkboy and creating radio shows and newspapers. i think i was destined for a life in communications and media.

i don't know why i never thought seriously about those careers as a child or teenager or even young adult. i never walked around saying "i want to be a writer" until like a year or two ago. what, did i just block all that out? when i was in high school, i shrugged off the possibility of becoming an english major in college despite the fact that i used to get really excited at bookstores, especially about literature.

i can be really dense sometimes.