I think it is assumed by most people that doing something you’re not good at — especially if you know you’re not good at it — isn’t really worth it. Why do something if it’s going to go nowhere, right? The point is… what? To all appearances, there isn’t one. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a person may be good at something, but they don’t do it. They should, though. It’s easy — no stress, right?
Well, for reasons I don’t understand, it doesn’t actually work that way. People do things they’re bad at all the time and even enjoy it. Likewise, it is completely possible to hate something you’re amazing at, even if it is the easy way out.
Personally, anyone who knows me knows that I like creative things; maybe I’m a little obsessed. What I really, vastly don’t like is school — another trait I take no pains to hide. The irony is that I’m very good at school. I’m especially good at science, which is a bit mean to my teachers because I have no interest in it at all. I might be a promising student, but I have every intention of throwing that option out the window.
Nope, given half a chance, I’d rather ignore my homework and make a dragon hand out of glue, Plasticine and nail polish. I have the paint drying on one somewhere. Why make it, though? The dragon really is useless. I don’t know what it’s for or why I’m making it, but the homework may accumulate into a degree in something.
It’s because no matter how good I do in school, it’s the dragon that keeps me sane and happy. It’s how I relax. It’s what I do for fun. I’ll continue to do it in my spare time as long as I can. If a person does something they’re bad at, it’s because they like it and it makes them happy; being good or bad at it mostly matters to other people. Whether that makes sense or not, that’s how it really works.
Hailey Viers is in Grade 11 at Prince Charles Secondary School. The Teen Take is a column co-ordinated by the Teen Action Committee.