We all have that one thing that we love to do. It could be dancing, singing, playing soccer, etc. There are also those people who excel in what we love to do. People seem to think that if you're not incredibly good at something, you should stop doing it and spend more of your time and energy focusing on something else. What most people don't seem to understand is that you can love doing something even if you're not the best at it. I'll be the first one to admit that I was never the best at anything. I was always just good enough. For example, I've been dancing since I was two years old and I am nowhere near as good as some of the people who have been dancing for as long as I have. However, that does not mean that I will never dance again. I happen to dance in college and I might not be the best, but I certainly do love it more than anything else. It's always been an expressive outlet for me and it's also a great way to stay active.
Nothing makes me happier than performing. That being said, I'm also a music major. Being a music major is extremely competitive and if you're not excelling, you're failing. Even if you're not failing, they still want nothing but the best. I constantly try to make myself feel better by seeing other people that are in worse positions than me but then my professors always tell me I still need to do better. I'm nowhere near a prodigy when it comes to music. I like to say I'm good enough to get by. My main goal is to teach music to little kids and while I do understand that the better musician you are, the better teacher you will be, I don't want to teach choir at a university level. I don't want to teach AP Music Theory to high school students. I want to inspire children to love music as much as I do. I know for a fact that I am not excelling in the music program like everyone else in my class and that's very hard for me to take in sometimes. However, I know I'm good enough to get through the program with a degree in Music Education. Will I get straight A's? Probably not. Will I have to work harder than everybody else? Probably. Will I be doing something I love for the rest of my life? Absolutely.
Comparing yourself to others that are better than you can be both good and bad. While it can motivate you to do better, it can also take a toll on your self confidence. If somebody was born a prodigy, you have no right to compare yourself to them. It's unrealistic. They just have different strengths than you do. Maybe the only thing they've ever done as a kid was play basketball but you happened to play basketball, soccer, baseball, and you also did girl scouts. You just distributed your energy into different things. If there's anything that's more valued than a prodigy, it's someone who's well rounded. If you're the kind of person (like me) that does ten million things and runs from place to place, you're going to look more desirable to employers and graduate schools.
All in all, if you're not amazing at something, but you still love it, do not give it up. Become a more well rounded person and find a million things that you love. Believe in yourself. Do what you love, even if you're not the best, because in the end, it's about what makes YOU happy. Good luck!
