Deciding on one specific talent has always been a hard thing for me. As a teenager in the prime of life with an abundance of natural talent, it is difficult to choose just one of my gifts to continue in. I often wish that I was like so many others in the world who have fewer options, so that I wouldn't have to spend so much time deciding on my course in life.

For instance, ever since I was a child, I have had the build of a gymnast [except my short arms'and my stiff back'and my inflexible joints]. I was privileged enough to be put into gymnastics in my youth [also known as daycare where we learned how to do somersaults], but quit because I felt that I was intimidating others [with my clumsiness. The other girls tossed a coin to see who would have to stand by me for the day]. It is obvious now that I am progressing without formal instruction [or is it regressing? I can't even touch my knees, let alone my toes].

Gymnastics isn't the only sport that God has given me the ability to play. I am also a professional [in the MOST liberal meaning of the term] track athlete. When I ran track in school, I was admired by both peers and coaches for my talent [until they actually saw me run]. My team consistently relied on me for both relays and hurdles [and I consistently let them down]. After one season though, I had to retire from the sport because of a severe injury [I think the medical term for it is 'pride']. Swim team and soccer are similar stories.

In case these gifts aren't enough, I have the ability to snowboard. Sean White and I have talked a lot about me pursuing this interest [maybe it was my brother and I who talked about it. They're both redheads, so it's understandable to get them confused from time to time]. After much deliberation, I have decided to pursue this sport as a leisure activity, not a career. My history in this sport is a miracle in itself. I was inspired to take up snowboarding while skiing a challenging slope a few winters ago [I should probably add here that I was carefully snowplowing my way down the hill, and getting passed up by toddlers]. I saw some snowboarders doing stunts and was inspired to try it myself. I bought a board, and was surprised to find that I immediately had no problem standing on it [from the safety of my living room floor] or going down the hill [mostly on my face]. In fact, I even got some air [when I tripped over someone else's ski pole]. [Watching] Snowboarding [from inside the ski lodge] is now one of my favorite things to do!

My latest hobby has been the guitar. I decided recently to teach myself how to play. Of course, I thought I should start by skimming over the instruction manual. The first item on the list was tuning the beautiful instrument [with a tone-deaf ear]. I just had to tweak the strings and turn the pegs a bit, and everything was great [if 'great' means it sounds worse now than it ever did before]. It was a little tougher to understand which notes went with which strings [because I realized that I couldn't READ notes!], but I feel that I have made great strides [in the wrong direction]. At one time I was even touring as a solo musician [to nursing homes across the state]. My fans deeply appreciated my musical talent [as soon as they turned off their hearing aids]. I'm proud to say that I no longer consider myself a novice [because I don't even attempt to play anymore].

Overall, it is easy to understand why narrowing down my multiple talents is going to be such a hassle. I am willing to take suggestions as to what I should continue on in, and hope to be an inspiration to others with my unique story.