I am well known as being a very optimistic person. Sometimes that gets dampened by whatever context I am in, but if I had to describe myself in a word (for an interview perhaps) I’d say I’m an optimist.

Today on my drive home from work I had a very optimistic thought. It occupied me for the whole drive back (I have an hour commute each way to work). So what was this thought, I hear you ask…it was simply this: Everyone is good at something. You just need to find what you’re good at, and voila.

So, not exactly groundbreaking. I was thinking about one of my possible career goals – I have no idea exactly what I want to do yet, so I’m trying to get my head around a few possibilities. One of those is that I’d like to be a teacher, and in particular, a drama/English teacher. I was thinking about whether or not I really have the right background to be a drama teacher, and then something hit me. I’m really enthusiastic, and I think that’s probably one of the most important things.

When I was at school one of the main things I took from my drama lessons (and by extension my teachers) is that I am particularly good at three things in life. I’m focused, I’m committed, and I’m really enthusiastic. Those things together don’t make a good actress, not by any stretch of the imagination. What they do make, at least at school age, is a good support. I’ve carried that through my life so far, and it’s brought me to being a director and president for a university society. I have never been the star, but I’ve been there doing the things which are necessary, and I’ve known to do that because my teachers at school helped me to identify my strengths early.

Sometimes it can feel like you don’t do anything right, but you just have to look a little deeper to work out how that can be a positive. Sometimes I talk too much, and go into too much detail. Mostly, that’s annoying, and I know that. But all I need is to channel it for the right circumstance, and suddenly it’s just confidence and enthusiasm.

All I can say is, I hope that everyone has the chance to find their strength, like I have.