We all knew one of those people. Ya know, the one that was top of the class by five points on their GPA, captain of a sports team, star of every school musical, a musical prodigy, a world traveler, and the nicest person you’d ever met in your life. We’ve all got one. And haven’t you experienced at least one moment of “jeez, can I have one iota of your talent, please?” I mean, I was very happy with getting straight As and graduating fifth in my high school class. And don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of my ability to write well, understand and analyze literature, and bake a mean lemon bar. But if I could spontaneously develop some other abilities, this is what I’d want to be able to do.

1. Draw an accurate portrait. Consistently. I took four years of art (through AP) in high school, and portraits were the thing that vexed me the most. When it comes to art, I’m a realist; I can’t do abstract, and like to draw what I see. For some reason, I decided to focus on people and GOOD GOD AND ALL THAT IS HOLY, drawing people is so stinking difficult! Let’s not even talk about the body and all it’s proportions. Do you know how hard it is to make a drawing of a person’s face actually look like that person? Like, REALLY look like that person? I’ve achieved it maybe twice in my life. Granted, I don’t draw nearly as much now that I’m in college and not pursuing art, but I think that being able to draw an accurate portrait on a regular basis would be a crazy awesome achievement.

 

2. Speak a foreign language. Heh, another desire borne from high school mediocrity. I took Italian through middle and high school — six years in total — and, two years removed from my senior year, remember next to nothing. It’s rather sad, actually. I have enough of a working knowledge to communicate essentials (dové il bagno?) and understand a bit of what I read, but that’s about it. When I went to Israel in May, I learned a bunch of words and phrases, and it was so exciting to say “kama ze o’le?” (how much does this cost?) to shop owners in the markets. I would love to be fluent in another language!

 

3. Sing. I can’t even describe to you how bad my voice is. I’m sure it’s probably not actually as bad as I think it is, but I refuse to sing in front of other people. And in “other people,” I include myself. Seriously. I rarely ever even sing when I’m alone in the car with only the radio for company. This is more of a pipe dream (accidental pun, I swear) than anything, but sometimes I’d love to just belt out a song and not have to worry about people running for cover.

 

4. Dance. Again, I’m probably not nearly as awkward-looking as I think I am, but MAN do I feel awkward-looking when I dance! I have enough rhythm to clap and/or bop along to the beat, and maybe even do a little side-to-side thing once in awhile. Beyond that, though? I feel absolutely ridiculous. It’d be great to be able to just let loose and dance it out, and not have to stick to bobbing my head.

 

5. Write a novel. As a writer (a journalist, but a writer nonetheless), writing a novel would be the holy grail of all achievements. When I was younger, I was constantly starting stories that all had the same lame plot and that now line my bookcases, unfinished. I know that nowadays if I got a good enough idea for a novel, I have good enough ability to write it, but until inspiration strikes, I’m stuck wishing and waiting. Hopefully the creative writing class I’m taking this fall will help me achieve my dream!

What do you wish you could do, Lovelies?