i was walking out of the floor, when sharon de la cruz & i had a chat. she called me ‘talented’; i flinched inside.
i keep wondering about this word: talent — and its association to me.
i am not talented. i don’t have any one extraordinary skill. i’m good at things i do, simply because i have done them a lot. i am good at keeping my head down & going at it — like a donkey — even if the path is not leading somewhere good. i am good at working hard. i am good at presenting stuff. i am good at — as michael wehar said — connecting human life with computation. i am okay at poetry (i don’t mean the wordy kind). i am good at climbing. i can write. i can program. i can figure things out. i can teach; facilitate. i can pick things up quickly.
however, i am not talented. i’m decent at a few things, and being able to work really hard — and that’s it.
these words irk me: talent, potential, force. and they perhaps do so because i’m often surrounded by people far smarter; better; and more talented.
reminder to myself: https://arjunmakesthings.github.io/notes/2025_living-with-artistic-mediocrity/page.html