Zohra Ali 1

Mr. Heap
ELA 10-1 The Bicycle
Personal Essay

Everyone has a special talent, some talents are unique and different, everyone's talents are
different, not everyone has what others have. We need to find out what they are and capitalize
on it. The story "The Bicycle'' by Jillian Horton represents this idea well. Hannah the main
character goes through a process which she discovers herself as she decides she will not give
up the things she loves for the thing she is good at. It is important to follow your passion
because what you love might not be what you’re good at.It is important to find your passion, but
also it is important to cherish your talent, but distinguish between both.

No matter what you do in life, the key to reaching success and happiness is through following
your passion. There are people who have everything they think they need to find happiness, but
they feel unfulfilled. Like Hannah did it is shown in the story from page one to three “By my
thirteenth birthday I was playing the music of Beethoven and Liszt with proficiency. I was a hard
worker...When the girls rode bicycles, their hair streamed out behind them and looked the way
hair looks when you float motionless in the bath...I remembered what it felt like to have your hair
fly out behind you. I wanted to feel the wind in my hair.” Unfortunately, many people are
discouraged from following their passions because they’re told they’ll never be successful or
you're not capable of it. This is shown in the short story on page five‘ “It is not the danger of
riding a bicycle that I am concerned about. It is the discipline that you needed, Hannah, to stop
yourself from doing what you wanted to do. It is about discipline.” ‘. Also, a person may set out a
list of achievements for themself, and achieve them, but find themselves still feeling unsatisfied.
For example, when Hannah knew how to play the piano well but she still wanted to ride the
bicycle “By my fifteenth birthday I was obsessed with the idea of riding a bicycle,” on page three.
When someone feels this way, it’s because they did not find and follow their true passions in life.
While it’s important to make sure you provide for yourself and your family, you shouldn’t give up
on your dreams and what you enjoy doing what you like following your passion and achieving.

Talent is the strongest gift you have. Talent doesn't need to be fully developed. It is god gifted.
However, you may need to practice your talent to get good at it. Hannah also practices with her
Tante Rose “After school I sat at the piano bench in the living room and studied finger exercises”
on page one. You do not need a school or a coach who can develop some talent in you, you
might need a coach to help you get better at your talent. Tante Rose was Hannah's coach, it
was said on page one “On Wednesdays I had my lesson with Tante Rose in her apartment”.
Sometimes, talent gets passed on from generation to generation. For instance, the son of a
singer also has good singing potential sometimes. This is also shown in this story Hannah’s
aunt Tante Rose was also a great concert pianist and Hannah also had the talent to become a
concert pianist “Tante Rose was a concert pianist. She was my mother’s older sister and my
only aunt.” This was stated on page one. But sometimes a person may have a very different
talent from their family. A painter may be born into a family of actors. There are people in the
world who do not even know what their talent is. People should take time to identify their talent
as soon as possible.
Zohra Ali 2
Mr. Heap
ELA 10-1 The Bicycle
Personal Essay

Success is achieved when our passion, and talent align. We need to understand that
sometimes we have talents in areas where we do not have passion. Simply because we have
the talent to do something it doesn't mean we can pursue it. For example I have a passion for
doing henna, but that doesnt mean I can pursue it as my career because I won't be able to
make a living out of it. Furthermore, often we don't discover our talents we've never
tried.Passion is the easiest. It excites us when we have something, or when we do something.
In my opinion I haven't tried many things in my life like modelling, because I am not passionate
about it but it might be a talent of mine but I'm not into it. But I have a passion for baking and I
have done it and I'm interested in it. Talent is the hardest because it cannot be earned or faked.
Talent is what we are born with. It may be a higher lung capacity to sprint or good hand eye
coordination required to sew. It is the natural capability we have to do something better than
others. I don't have any talent for running and it can be clearly seen because I get exhausted
after running 5 minutes.

In conclusion, I would like to tell the story “The Bicycle '' by Jillian Horton, Really nicely
represents the idea that you need to like what you do , it doesn't matter if you're good at it or
not. Also, it points out the idea that everyone is different, everyone has their own talents and
you need to find them because sometimes your talents make you stand out. Moreover, you
need to remember that your passion can be your talent. You like what you do because you
are good at it. That's why you need to have passion and talent in your life so that you can
seek success.