The Big 150: 26, Education – What talent would you most like to have? What would you do with it?
YESSSS! JACKPOT. I have been waiting to randomly pull a blog prompt like this because, to me, this is equivalent to the ‘what super power would you want?’ question! And, boy oh boy, are you in luck because I have thought for years about what I would want as my super power… or, in this case, “talent.”
I would love to be a master of languages. Super power-wise: I would be able to understand/speak/translate/write any language that anyone used around me. I studied Chinese at boarding school and then learned Russian while in college, and although I have dabbled with both Duolingo and Babel, and although some days it feels like my Russian can come back… like riding a велосипед, I wish there was a magical power/talent that made my brain absorb the knowledge more quickly.
Now that I’ve admitted that I wish I had speed of language thought (which is what we shall call my special magical talent power), I would use it for some very important causes. Right off the bat, I need to say that – first and foremost – I would definitely try to use my powers for good, helping end conflict and being a translator or facilitator in any way that would help those in need.
Okay, now that I’ve gotten that answer out of the way, I would absolutely use my speed of language thought to prank every single person in my life. No one would be safe. Traveling with loved ones to a foreign country where English is not the main spoken language? You can bet I’m absolutely going to plan with the locals to convince my loved ones that we’ve somehow gotten off the main road and need to come up with a new plan or- or else our lives are in mortal danger because our supplies are running low and we’ve somehow landed in a mafia-run crime territory. Is this evil? Or is it just Chaotic Neutral? I wouldn’t pull pranks that would end up with anyone actually getting hurt. I would simply become the ‘speed-of-language-thought’ version of Ashton Kutcher (during his Punk’d era) to those in my life.
After all, life is about balance. If I’m going to only ever use my speed-of-language-thought for good, well, ugh, that’s boring. Even the greatest heroes in all the stories struggle with the urge to go anti-hero from time to time! Do you know how many comics have created versions of evil Superman? A lot more than you’d think. I mean, even Taylor Swift wrote an entire song about her struggles, and it's literally called “Anti-Hero.” I’m not even talking about using my speed of language thought special magical talent power for anything truly bad. Who doesn’t love a good prank? We all loved Punk’d, and I know a lot of people who still watch Impractical Jokers. So, I guess the long-story-short version of this prompt is that I wish I had speed of language thought. If I had that as my special magical talent power, I would truly, mostly help others and do good for the world... but, since everyone likes a good prank every once in awhile, I’d also use my speed of language thought for a good laugh. To speed of language thought as my magical cloak and to its use for good and also for jokes, Johny
ICYMI: The Big 150
22, Random - What would you do if you won the lottery? 23, World - What are your views on religion? 24, Random - What were you afraid of most as a child? 25, Relationships - Write a letter to someone who has impacted your life.