Here at Apple Valley High School, everyone has a talent. A talent is like a gift of ability. It is what you are good at. A talent can be excelling in a class like math or social studies, or having a skill like making music or running a mile in record-breaking time. We all have a talent, even if we do not yet realize it. You may be a person who does not know your talent yet.

Everyone should know what their talent is. Then you can develop that talent and use it to do great things. It is important that you use your talent in a way that gives you fulfillment by making a difference in the lives of others. As Spanish painter Pablo Picasso once said, “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” This means that if you discover your talent, it will bring greater meaning; by using your talent to benefit the world, your life will be more purposeful.

Apple Valley High School is a great place to discover your talent. There is a wide variety of classes and activities to help you. Some of the opportunities we have include: speech, debate, E3 STEM, math team, lacrosse, football, FACS, band, choir, dance, and theater.

A lot of high school students are interested in at least one of the many activities AVHS has to offer, but not everyone chooses to participate in them. This is a problem because if you don’t discover your talent, you will grow up not knowing what you are good at and what brings you fulfillment. As an adult, you may not fully enjoy your job; you will only do it to earn money.

Molly Moynihan, Student Council Officer and Star Athlete says “If there is an activity you really enjoy, or an activity you don’t even know you will enjoy, just try it. Later in life you won’t have that opportunity.” Sometimes you have to try many activities before you know what you truly like.

Perhaps you don’t want to join an activity because you are worried about what your peers may say. Mr. Blatzheim, Arts and Activities Director, says: “If you join a club because you are interested in it, you can trust that you will be in a supportive environment […] It’s important for people to put themselves out there, because you never know what kind of positives can come from it.”

After you discover your talent, you have to put work into it. What you get from your talent is truly what you put into your talent. The only way to get better at it is developing it. Developing a talent takes focused time and effort, but the end result will pay off. Some people may take more time than others to develop their gift, but the important thing is that we stay focused, knowing that we are all unique.

“Everyone has a different talent they can use to make a difference,” Mr. Blatzheim noted. If you are a good public speaker, you can speak about issues that concern you. If you are a musician, you can make music to make other people more happy and relieved. If you are athletic, you can organize a sporting event to entertain people and make funds for a charity. If you are an artist or photographer, you can tell people impactful stories with your pictures.

It is important to share your talent, because if you don’t, you will leave this world with your talent and nobody will ever benefit from it. Steve Jobs is a great example of someone who gave his talent away. If Steve Jobs kept his skills on managing the Apple company to himself, it wouldn’t have been successful enough to work now that he has passed away. None of our school iPads would exist, and there would not have been any iPhone newer than the 4S.

By getting used to using your talent for the good of others, you will now be able to make an even bigger difference in the world when you grow up. With any talent you have, opportunities will automatically open up for you to share it, if you are willing to make a difference. You will not only impact others, but you will also be highly fulfilled. Let us make the world a better place right now, with the talents we have.