Doing what comes naturally

We encourage people to do what comes naturally to them. Seems like a good enough idea, but while rewatching an episode of My Little Pony (yes, that is correct), I suddenly stared glaring at the screen. And not just because I’ve picked up the nickname Twilight Sparkle among some of my friends. (I own a lot of��books, am obsessively organized, make a lot of speeches and have a tenancy to look shit up in the middle of conversations. Wikipedia is my best friend and friendship is magic.)

In the My Little Pony episode The Show Stoppers, the Cutie Mark Crusaders are doing what they always do ��� trying to find their “special skill” and earn their pony mark of��� what? Adulthood? I’m super confused about the relative age of the main characters in that show. Are they grownups? Adolescents? I have not idea. At any rate, Twilight Sparkle tells the kids the kids to focus on the things they’re already good at in order to find their purpose. When they fail to do so as the episode processes, the Crusaders��butcher their impassioned rock ballad and are openly laughed at on stage. All seems to end well when they win the Best Comedy award, though. As the young ponies depart, Twilight Sparkle chuckles��to herself and notes that someday they will come around.

Nice kids’ show message, right? Look to yourself for the things you already excel at and focus on those to make your mark on the world. (See what I did there? Mark! Get it? Bah, forget it.) But I got really red in the face watching this episode. I usually like MLP’s message. That’s why I watch the show. But this time, I felt��like they got something really wrong.

I love writing. It’s my life. It’s become much of Aron’s life. But while it came naturally enough to him, it didn’t for me. I’m dyslexic as fuck (or lesdysic sa��ckuf in my native tongue). I’m a slow reader. I have a crappy imagination. I nearly failed half of the English classes I ever took. Becoming a writer took ��� and still takes ��� a lot of damned hard work. In school, I was much better at biology and physiology. If I had shied away from writing just because I sucked at it, I wouldn’t be here now.

I think we’re��missing out��if we only encourage people to pursue things they’re already talented at. Sometimes the thing someone��loves isn’t easy, but that makes it no less important. Maybe even more so ��� you have to really believe in the dream that you chase if it doesn’t come easily. When you work for every inch, you know you’ve earned it. You paid for that passion��in blood, sweat and tears.��In my case, the only blood is from paper cuts, but still���

In some ways, I prize every book I finish��all the more because it represents such a hard-won battle. Not a single page came��easily or naturally. I fight for it every day when I sit down to work. I don’t write��as quickly as Aron or other authors. I’m slow and I have to study a lot ��� I read a lot of books on writing and listen to every writing podcast I can get my hands on. It’s taken me years to reach the proficiency level in my writing that many authors manage by the end of their first book.

But do I regret it? Do I feel like I’ve chosen the wrong life path? Fuck no! Well, not often. And everyone agrees that I’d have some sort of pen cutie mark. Because I’m a writer, damn it!

And because, yes, we’ve discussed��what our cutie marks would be.