Sunday, February 11
the misnomer of being talented
sometimes people say i'm talented
i don't really think that i am
today in LIFE! i saw a painting done by an 8 year old kid
and it's something way beyond anything i could do when i was 8...
and perhaps even now.
i'm nearing 20.
art was my arch-nemesis when i was younger
being predisposed to destroy anything that passed through my tubby hands
my mom had to coerce my sister into cheating for my art exams
my piano teacher told me in all solemnity
that i'd never go very far in music
so i quit after my first grade of the piano
english was my absolute worst academic subject
i bottomed the class almost every year
in secondary school i was notorious for my wrecked uniforms
ink, glue, paint, starch, milo, ketchup
for these reasons and more my discipline mistresses hunted me down each morning
itching to find fault with the grubby and shabby state of my attire
there was a wave of anime and manga madness that crashed upon secondary school life
i joined my classmates in their drawing and sketchbook sharing ring.
annie
debs
hy
ray
sharon
tong
yan
i was disparagingly pathetic
and my art was easily the worst of the lot.
annie is the person that everyone loves
for obvious reasons.
she's like a mother goose
a listening ear, and a comforting shoulder to lean on
she gives the greatest hugs
and has a amazingly happifying smile
she has been great at drawing ever since she started
and yet she was one of the few people who encouraged me to keep drawing
debs started drawing when she was really young
and as far as i can remember
she has always been singled out as being exceptional in art.
for a rather long period of time
debs was everything i wanted to be but was not
she's a brilliant violinist,
a stellar artist
petite and adorable
witty and intelligent
and impossible to hate.
yan and tong reek of pure talent
visual acuity, impeccable eye and memory for detail,
and the ability to draw with no reference whatsoever,
and the ability to draw with clean unambiguous lines
they're the people in the group most likely to pursue a career in art
they'll be off to japan in april,
yan to a dress making school, and tong to a animation and design institution.
as for me
i'm glad that i couldn't draw
i'm glad that i was rubbish at music
i'm glad for all the things that i couldn't do
for i realize that it's what makes me more patient
it's what makes me able to do what is beyond the call of duty for someone else
and it attests that
it's not what i have
but what i choose
that makes me who i am.
1. oOo
