It's freaking insane that people are expected to choose their life calling in high school (or younger). When I was younger I really wanted to be an Olympic gymnast -- too bad I missed that boat by about 10 years. But I practiced constantly, even though I knew it would go nowhere, and stayed miserable until I discovered writing, which thankfully has no age limit. It was by chance: mainly books allowed me to escape my miserable life, so I gravitated to them.

We're so inundated by stories of dedicated wunderkinds that we no longer recognize that skills take time to develop. Instead we expect people to have instant aptitude at whatever they try, and if they don't, then get someone that can.

High school blows. Every day I was lectured at about how important it was to get good grades. I understood that perfectly; what I didn't understand was how someone could just decide to do well in school and automatically get awesome grades. They made it sound so easy, and it wasn't for me.

Think about what you do with your free time. Good place to start as any.