Seems like parents these days want to make sure that their child finds their “thing.”
By “thing” I mean that one sport or activity they are good at, that they succeed in and hopefully, that they enjoy doing.
A friend of mine is always talking about finding her younger daughter’s “thing.” It doesn’t seem to be lacrosse or swimming, she says, so she’s talking about signing her up for art lessons.
I never had a “thing” when I was growing up. I tried a lot of different things, and enjoyed most of them, but I didn’t excel at any of them. I gave up on gymnastics after a few years because I was too tall and inflexible. I played field hockey, soccer and lacrosse in middle and high school, but I didn’t go on to play in college. I dabbled in art and even applied to a camp for talented kids in middle school, but I didn’t get in. Turns out I wasn’t that artistic. In the long run, it didn’t matter that I didn’t have a thing growing up. I’ve succeeded in life fairly well nonetheless.
