Kejejian 1

Gasig Kejejian
Professor DerOhanessian
English 114A
2 December 2014
Explore Your Talent & Accept It As A Gift
Everyone was born with a talent of some sort. Nonetheless, whether youre tall,

short, fat, skinny, poor or rich, there is always going to be someone better at something than you
are. That is the beauty of life, no one can tell an individual who he or she can be. Thats ok
though, because no one controls the ability of will power and creates motivation for yourself,
other than your own brain. The brain controls everything and anything that plays a role in ones
life. The way we think about things, over think certain incidents, analyze situations, and use your
judgment are little steps in life that play a huge role in our lives. This leads to the decisions we
make and shapes the person we imagine to be. The brain reflects on interpersonal thoughts and
emotions, which we are not meant to fight but instead use to help us seek motivation in life.
Today in society, there isnt one person fit for a certain job. Life is a gift that should be taken
advantage of and appreciated to the fullest, because if you dont appreciate yourself, no one else
will.
The article written by Carol Dweck is analyzing how the brain constantly changes with
learning experiences. Also, the article explains to us why so many young children today dont
achieve to their potential, and why they stop working when a specific task turns challenging. The
article explains to us how students motivations to learn transform and how it affects their life.
Interfering with learning experiences, she argues that, stereotypes have such profound effects on
certain achievements, and how children think intelligent people will make it in life, because they

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are born with a fixed mindset. Now, a fixed mindset refers to believing that some people are born
with fixed abilities, making failures and mistakes demoralizing/threatening. While, other
students believe that hard word, effort and education makes an individual intelligent in life.
Testing our abilities, making mistakes and persevering make us smarter (Dweck).
Being intelligent makes us aware and more appreciative of our blessings in life. It is the
belief that intelligence can be developed that opens students to a love of learning, a belief in the
power of effort and constructive, determined reactions to setbacks (Dweck). Developing a love
of learning, noticing hard work and effort should be the motivation to never give up and let
anything phase our consciences. Hard work isnt talent or a gift; its the exploration to see how
far of an extent someone can push his or her will to. A talent isnt just specifically being gifted,
however, self-realization and power of a gift is the best prize anyone can be awarded.
The things we choose to do in our lives are a choice we make to lead us to who we want
to be at the end of the day. Some people had a choice, others worked hard to figure it out on their
own and make a living. A great example would be Serena Williams, who became one of the
worlds most talented and exciting tennis players. Williams entered her first tournament at the age
of four and a half, and over the next five years, she won forty-six of the next forty-nine
tournaments she had entered. As an African American athlete it was very difficult for Williams
to play tennis, which is generally dominated by white players. However, her attitude was
extraordinary and she had a powerful determination to win. She fought against the profound
stereotype of a tennis player, never letting it effect her motivation and achievement. Serena was
self-made from a young age, and it gave her the mindset that when looking to achieve and
improve, there is no time to pay attention to rumors, and negative reports in media. She reported,

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as long as my family knows who I am. And I know that a lie cant live forever. My mom raised
us to be strong women. We were taught that things like peer pressure didnt exist for us
(Serena). The media only helps ruin peoples self esteem, but Serenas gut told her to different.
In 1999 she had became the second black woman to win a Grand Slam title, and today is still
continuing on advancing herself.
Self-esteem is the power and strength to an individuals confidence. Confidence is key to
having a strong personality. A strong personality in society helps one not to tolerate or let
anything around them affect their personal life. Believing in your own self worth is the golden
ticket. The challenges we personally go through and phase builds character and ambition. How
can we let others demotivate our beliefs and mindsets scaring of attempting challenges in life?
Being resilient and relish of challenges lets you explore strengths and weaknesses. We were all
gifted with life, and are guided in a way to create and direct our own story. How can we let
others who dont control our story direct us?
A similar life story to Williams is that of Sophia Amoruso, the founder of NastyGal
clothing line, who went from Dumpster-Diving Teen to CEO of a 100 million dollar company.
Sophia Amoruso is 30 years old today, and her fashion empire started as simple as an eBay store.
Growing up as a teen she wasnt fortunate and had a poor financial life. She started out her
journey by selling vintage clothing on eBay, and later in 2008 was financially stable to launch a
website, calling it NastyGal. Amoruso now manages over 300 employees in a 50,000 square foot
L.A office. "Half the people in this office wouldn't have taken me seriously seven years ago, to
my surprise and everyone else's, I've come out the other side more self-aware, self-critical, and
able to appreciate what I have (Amoruso).
Sophias success story is significant to Dwecks article, because she was a young girl

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without motivation just looking to be someone in life. Knowing that achievement will have a
positive effect and motivate her to learn more, she pushed an eBay account into a clothing line,
developing a passion for what she loves to do most. Because she believed in her clothing line,
she was motivated and pushed the start of her career by herself. Showing others that anything is
possible if you take challenges, also allows others to gain their trust. She was asked to define
success and says, I think were all capable of creating successes in our life every day, and I
think thats a much healthier approach to your life and your career. If something doesnt work
out and you learn from it, youve still been successful (Amoruso).

In reference of self-actualization and success, one of the largest barricades to these goals
primarily includes self-restraint. Amoruso also had decided to write a book titled, #GIRLBOSS ,
as a memoir reference for young women on how to apply business in real life. Her message says,
We think we want to do something, try it, dont like it, feel like a failure because we spent time
on it, and shift gears and I think no one really talks about that, and the fact that thats OK
(Amoruso). Although we are afraid to be unsuccessful and defensive, people in society often
seem to be afraid to step out their comfort zone and portray their talent. In society it is obvious
that we worship talent and value them as a gift. Learning from your mistakes, and attempting
stereotypical challenges can help you achieve a lot, and there are many stories similar to Serene
and Sophia. Being fearless can create experiences into something awesome.

Everyone is given a chance at life, and a chance to create who we want to be for the rest
of our existence in this world. No, we dont get a pat on the back every time we do something
good. In return, the reward is positive energy, success, experience, and advancement in everyday
life. A chance to express who we want to be, and have a story to motivate people in society to be

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independent. The number one key factor is we have to believe in ourselves, and cant be scared
to be different. Jobs are created through inventions and thoughts, which is endless because of
creativity. Life is a learning experience and after a certain age we are considered independent.

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Works cited

Bahadur, Nina. "Sophia Amoruso, NastyGal Founder, Shares Her Journey From
Dumpster-Diving Teen To CEO." Huff Post. N.p., 06 May 2014. Web.
Dweck, Carol S. "Independent School Magazine." Brainology. N.p.,2008. Web. 24 Nov.
2014.
Edmondson, Jacqueline. Venus and Serena Williams: A Biography. Greenwood
Publishing Group, 2005.