Challenge 7: Genie

Write a brief essay about your activities, interests, achievements and talents.

One day, I found a magic lamp, I rubbed it, and in a matter of seconds, Genie was standing in front of me. He told me that he would grant three of my wishes, but I only had a second to decide. Amazed and dazed, I was unable to put together three wishes in just one second. The Genie shouted “Timeeeeessss uppppp!!!!” and randomly jolted a spark of light at me. The Genie did not bother to listen to my wishes, but he gave me different talents. The hard part of this is I have to find them out myself.

So far, I have found a few of my talents. Most of them involve music. I started out playing the drums for my Sunday’s school group, and from then on I have grown to play for my school’s monthly chapel. At times, I also play for friends who need a drummer, not particularly for a band, although I would like to be in one. I also sing, although I am not very good, I sang in a fund-raiser organized with my friends and raised 1 lakh rupees, that is equivalent to $2000.

I have recently discovered that I have a passion for filmmaking. When my mind wanders off into space, I catch myself thinking of possible movie storylines, and places where I can shoot a short movie. Disney inspires me to follow my dreams. As head of Social Activities (SAC), I, along with my friend, have started a trend of dances where the music does not stop. Hopefully, this trend will continue.

I fell in love with basketball in my freshman year. I had finally found something that would put my height to use. I had no preset talent; I worked hard, dug deep and found that basketball is one of the Genie’s many gifts. Starting out as a scrappy benchwarmer, I eventually climbed up the ranks to land a spot on the starting five and proved to be a pivotal part of a team that brought the trophy back home after six years. I also won MVP that year, which represents not only my talent, but also my hard work and determination.

It is impossible for me not to bask in this memory, but an achievement like this proves to me that I am the Genie within me. The one second that I did not make use of, reminds me of how I cannot choose what I want in the matter of a second. The Genie’s spark of light is the infinite amount of talent that I can choose from to gain more achievements. His word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.