"Because life is a gift, all of us are gifted."

For a very long time, I thought that people could be completely "normal"; that is, they could have absolutely no talent at all and grow up to work in a cubicle. I never realized that there are literally millions and billions of talents out there until a couple years ago. More specifically, I learned this fact of life near the end of sixth grade. At that same time, I realized countless other things, a critical switch flipping somewhere deep inside my brain. I made a promise to myself to, among others, embrace and strive for my dreams, ignore the part of me that wants to fit in, and see others as equal. Of course, I am simply human and I can easily feel above or below another. Fortunately, I can keep another part of that promise that I discovered is much more intricate than I ever thought. Everyone has a gift, a talent, or an extraordinary ability. My best friend back in Florida can be very thoughtful and deep at any time, unlike myself, where my thoughts have to build up again after dissipating onto paper. A few of my friends have very good, and even amazing athletic abilities (at least it seems like it to me). One friend who left for Alabama a couple years ago was a startlingly impressive singer and actor, considering our town is in the middle of nowhere, and she even made it onto Nickelodeon. But, the most extraordinary ability that all of us share is the ability to effectively learn and retain information, which entails a very bright future for each and every one of us, if we are willing to take it.

Everyone has some gift. It takes many their entire lives to realize what it is, while others find it at birth. For some, it leads to great success, but for others, it leads to punishment and jail time. It is just a matter of luck and resolution. I can only hope, along with many others, that there are enough of us with great abilities who are willing to take advantage of them. Our world could become what it is supposed to be: a brotherhood and sisterhood between all where we don't murder each other over anything and everything, especially when our supposed mission has been completed (considering the two wars we're still fighting).