An Odd Duck's Squeamishlessness

When I was a kid, maybe in 4th or 5th grade, I was fascinated by my mom's soft contact lenses. She hardly wore them, though. When I had a moment to sneak into her bathroom, I'd unscrew them out of their cases and simply stare at their über gelatinous magnificence . 

I read the instruction booklet on how to put them in over and over again. One sneaky afternoon when she was napping, I put them on.

(I know. I am an odd duck. So be it. Odd ducks, unite!) 

Of course, my vision was blurry. And later on in life, as the ultimate, in-your-face Karma, I wore contacts for about 23 years until I got laser vision surgery recently.

BUT. My point is, I possess a sort of squeamishlessness . (Ooh. Say that really fast and it could make you drool by accident!) I'm not grossed out by discussing vomit, stool, snot, pee, or the color, smell and consistency of said bodily excretions. We doctors happily use adjectives like "currant-jelly" and "rice-water" and "soft serve ice cream" or "hard and pellet-like" with happy aplomb when discussing these things. Sure, I throw in a colorful Ew and *hurl* during my Medical Mondays.

But in truth, it takes a lot to make get me nauseated. Hence, I was sort of made for a career in healthcare.

HOWEVER. I did not think I was built for fiction writing. Only after years of trying did I realize I could take a tablespoon of talent and a pound of hard work and turn it into something.

What about you? Do you have a natural talent for your calling, be it writing, or your day job? Or did you have to fight to get where you are? Maybe a little of both?