[SP] Virtuosity - What have you pursued?

[Jeffster]

When you were a kid, what did you dream of becoming awesome at? Did you actually pursue that activity for any length of time? What are you trying to develop skills in now? Is it the same activities or something else?

Tell me some stories, SPs.

 

[Jeffster]

Well, FINE. I guess I'll start.

Most of the time as a kid it was sports. I imagined myself being a professional athlete all the time, though the only sport I ever got any good at was soccer.

I discovered I was good at creative writing, so for awhile I though about becoming a writer. There were lots of possibilities for that too, I thought about movie writing or television, in addition to story book ideas. I was usually good at creating characters and scenarios, but nearly as good at plots. So if I was ever going to have pursued this professionally, I would have had to have at least one co-writer I think.

As I got older, I got into acting and definitely considered trying to pursue that as a career. In addition to school productions, I did some community theater, and when I was visiting colleges, I checked out the drama programs at the schools to see how they stacked up. My senior year, I wrote my first one-act play, and directed it as well, and I began to see once again that I was better at behind-the-scenes creation that actual performing. Though I think I wasn't bad, I could never get into it quite as much, unless it was improv. Performing other people's scripted lines was enjoyable, but never gave me the high that creating my own does.

It didn't take me very long working in the fast food industry to get my own ideas about restaurant possibilities. I have never stopped thinking of new ideas for restaurant chains and things like the menu, the visual design of the place, as well as thinking of promotional ideas and commercials in my head. Once again, creation is where my talent lies, I can enjoy managing a restaurant for a time, but I definitely get burned out on it.

Radio is one of my main loves, and from an early age I was making up my own radio ideas as well, when I was in high school, I was a DJ for a college radio station in the summer, and I continued to seek jobs in radio up until the time I got my current job. I spent a short time writing the weekly top 20 countdown show for an internet radio station that eventually went out of business. But I haven't given up my dream of owning my own station or at least having a say in the sound of one, as I am always thinking of new formats or new ways to tweak old ones.

I might come up with more to write later about myself, but in the meantime, I hope others will share about their own activities and dreams.

 

[Kingfisher]

i wanted to be a photographer when i was a kid, that was the love of my life. i took photos all the time, for me it was photography 24/7, i lived and breathed photography. i was as obsessed with it as you can be. it was real infuriating to my father. and most other adults found it endearing at first, and then were sort of confused and disturbed when i just wouldn't let up..
also i made a lot of videos with our crappy super 8, little documentaries about people. i didn't narrate them, they were just sort of snapshots of people's lives, and not very flattering always, hahaha!!
when i learned about photo-journalism i decided that was the thing for me, photo-journalism,and i started documenting our neighborhood in photos; the people, the business owners, the gangs, etc.
i got into a world of trouble in 1992, because i decided i was going to document the Rodney King riots as a photo-journalist. (i grew up in LA)
jesus! my father was livid, he beat the shit out of me. it was worth it, a thousand times over, haha!!

i have kept up on photography, but i would definitely not say i have developed any virtuosity in it.
i am more of a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy. i am very good at a lot of things.

 

[Jeffster]

Thanks for sharing Kingfisher!

Need more input people!!

 

[wolfy]

When I was a kid?
A film director is one I clearly remember. I shot a few movies of my brothers and sisters and really got into it.

This is interesting. I never noticed this thread, I'll post more later...

 

[Sidewinder]

I was a very good runner at the middle distances when I was in high school. I managed to make it on to the track and soccer teams even though I don't think I was the most naturally athletically gifted person. But I worked hard and took a pragmatic approach to things. I had the sort of vague dreams of being a top notch athlete that every kid had, but my knees kept giving me problems. So no high-level training for me.

I also had a natural talent at music. I played saxophone in band and also played keyboards, both quite well. I feel I should have kept it up, but I unfortunately lost interest after university. Lately, I'm more interested in guitar, which I didn't play when I was younger. It's a lot more fun!

I became more interested in art as I got into my 20s. I took some lessons in general drawing and life drawing and discovered that I was the fastest learner in my class. I have a good eye for drawing what I see. I'm taking lessons again and it's at the top of my list of skills to keep working on right now. My goal is to be confident and competent enough to post my art by this time next year.

I really wish I had known about MBTI when I was younger. I think I would have made more of an effort to work on my skills all along. I didn't know it how important it really was! Does anyone else feel that way? Oh well, it's never too late to keep trying!

 

[Kingfisher]

Sidewinder - good luck with guitar! you should definitely go for it, no matter how old you are or how little experience with guitar you have! when i started learning guitar i had this feeling of "it's too late for me..." but i am glad i went ahead and learned it, because it is never too late.

good luck with the art, too! drawing what you see is not easy at all, seriously, that is usually the biggest struggle for artists by far. it's very hard to draw what's actually there, and not your interpretation of it. stick with it, if you are learning that fast at life drawing i think it is a very good sign!
anyway, i would totally love to see some of your art whenever you're ready to share it, seriously.


wolfy - did you have scripted movies, that your wrote and directed like a regular film? i made a lot of documentaries, without any script or plan, and i filmed my brother a lot, because i kind of had a hero worship for him...

 

[wolfy]

wolfy - did you have scripted movies, that your wrote and directed like a regular film? i made a lot of documentaries, without any script or plan, and i filmed my brother a lot, because i kind of had a hero worship for him...

Simple little skits with some simple special effects. I made a burglary one once, that was the longest.

 

[Kingfisher]

Simple little skits with some simple special effects. I made a burglary one once, that was the longest.

that's cool though! because it never even occured to me to have a story or plot when i filmed my movies. that seems a lot more creative, to have a fictional make-believe story you are filming.
i am curious, how interested were you in telling the story, and how interested were you in the process of filming? because to me, the story or idea was basically just a flimsy excuse to film...

 

[wolfy]

that's cool though! because it never even occured to me to have a story or plot when i filmed my movies. that seems a lot more creative, to have a fictional make-believe story you are filming.
i am curious, how interested were you in telling the story, and how interested were you in the process of filming? because to me, the story or idea was basically just a flimsy excuse to film...

I was more interested in the process of filming. Much more. The story was important in that the overall feel of the movie hinged on it, but I had no deep reason for the story.

 

[Little Linguist]

Oh I had lots of dreams when I was a kid. First, I wanted to be a ballet dancer, but my ankles were weak, so that was a no-go.

Then I wanted to be a famous Irish dancer, but I was too lazy, and that was in the 80s before it was really popular, so out went that idea.

After that, I wanted to master all the European languages before I died. Still working on that.

All my life, I dreamed of living in Germany. I'm doing that right now....

A lot of the time, I played 'teacher,' and now I am one....

Always wanted to be good at drawing, but I really stink at it....

With the arts/music, I'm just too perfectionistic and impatient to really be good at it. Though I have bursts of inspiration where I am not half-bad.

I don't know if this is what you mean....?

 

[Sidewinder]

Sidewinder - good luck with guitar! you should definitely go for it, no matter how old you are or how little experience with guitar you have! when i started learning guitar i had this feeling of "it's too late for me..." but i am glad i went ahead and learned it, because it is never too late.

good luck with the art, too! drawing what you see is not easy at all, seriously, that is usually the biggest struggle for artists by far. it's very hard to draw what's actually there, and not your interpretation of it. stick with it, if you are learning that fast at life drawing i think it is a very good sign!
anyway, i would totally love to see some of your art whenever you're ready to share it, seriously.

Thanks very much for the inspiring thoughts! I sometimes take on too many hobbies at once and wind up dropping other things I was working on. I play guitar in bursts for a few weeks and then put it aside for a while. So I have to keep getting my finger calluses back all the time.

And, yes, I'll definitely post my art once I have a scanner, and something worth showing.

 

[Jeffster]

NEED MORE INPUT

 

[Auto/Virtuosi=L.A.P.]

I saw acting, running and photography. awesome ones. tried 'em

As a kid, oddly enough to me, I wanted to be what I called a "manufacturer." In my opinion it was "someone who fixed things like toasters..." I must've meant mechanic... *ahem* Fireman at one point, then I had a good stint with wanting to be a gemologist, or rock expert. I'm not practicing any of these presently. Never tried tools or fixing... hm.

But as for virtuosity, singing (check da name heh). Big time. Loved it since I was 6 or something. I get teeeerribly perfectionistic with it, but teachers/professors have had a love hate relationship with me 'cuz I'd be fussy about quality...but for good reason. lol good...good times... :steam:

 

[Jeffster]

 

[millerm277]

Well, I can't remember too many of my dreams from when I was younger, but...

My life-long passion has always been skiing. For me, it is a much more than a sport or hobby, and has been for as long as I can remember. It's a combination of relaxation, challenge, therapy, and some other things I can't really put into words. But, it has always been something that's really mattered to me, and when I was little, I saw those videos of "extreme skiing", and thought...."I want to be able to be like them, to be able to pick anywhere with snow to ski and have the ability to, even if there's cliffs, or I have to hike to get to it, or it's really steep".

Well, guess what? 13 years after I started skiing, I almost can, and it's exactly as enjoyable as I thought it would be when I was little, and I expect to do it for the rest of my life, and maybe even get an engineering job in a related field.

 

[wolfy]

When I was six I wanted to be the best drummer but I smacked a hole in them.

When I was ten I wanted to be number one at playground tennis. I came second. Later on I got in a fight with the guy who came first. I lost that too. Prick.

 

[ViCyniC]

Drums and tennis...they are my passions (at least inside my head). I have a drum kit at home, so I play/practice sporadically, but not enough to be as good as I daydream of being. I'll get there, though. And I hardly play tennis anymore, but I'll be damned if I don't play tennis regularly until old age. I'm going to join a tennis league at some point and do some major practicing/playing.

 

[energystar]

I wanted to be a opera singer, a chess genius and later on a fashion designer. Used to make a lot of my own clothes from the age 11-16, learned how to sow by myself. I also wanted to be a martial arts expert and took karate for two years, I was quite good at it but the interest faded.
I always enjoyed drawing and after some detours ended up working as a grapich designer,webdesigner and illustrator and still do. At the moment I am into writing, well see how it goes. Oh and I quite enjoy html, css, flash, asp etc.

 

[351Stang]

Growing up in BC i always wanted to be a pro mountain biker. I almost religiously watched videos of the pros shredding some of the most technical freeride trails in the world that were conveniently located within driving distance of me on the north shore. I would find the location of the trails and ride them to the best of my ability, i did this for years and managed to make a bit of a name for myself locally and was even offered a sponsorship deal from a small local company. Unfortunately i had started to grow out of the sport when the deal was offered to me due to the large amount of injuries i recieved so i decided to turn it down and just ride for the fun of it when i felt like it. That wasn't too long ago and i still ride occasionally.

Also, at 17 i had decided it was my life's destiny to build show cars for a living so as soon as i finished high school i bought this old 1969 mustang as my project "show car" and got an apprenticeship with a local autobody shop and started sanding cars 8 hours a day. After six months, a hell of alot of dust and no progress on my mustang i decided it wasn't right for me. I sold the car and and quit, my lungs and wallet thanked me later for that one LOL.
Modifying cars is still one of my passions and i still plan to build a show car in the future, probably when i'm retired with lots of time and money.