Don't forget the fact that sometimes we can be called upon to show off our gifts in a way that we might not ever expect. I've been trying to get on some place as a professional writer. I actually placed in a writing contest all the way back in the 10th grade, and just about everyone says I have a gift for the literary arts. Sounds like I should be making my $$$ in doing lit, right? That's not actually how it happened. I got a job delivering newspapers to pay for college, first my undergrad work and then - due to the recession - grad school. Well, about two years ago the company that owns my specific newspaper decides to bring in a new publishing editor. The new guy's very first project is to bring all of us employees into his office one-by-one and talk to us in person. During my meeting with him, he asks if I have any ideas for how we can improve the newspaper. I point out that a sister newspaper has a movie reviewer, and raise the prospect of our picking up his reviews as well. The new guy responds by handing me a stack of movie passes. Congratulations, I'm now our paper's official movie reviewer. I've got 600 words each week to say my peace. Since then, I've had people come up to me in public - including workers at the local theater - to ask me my opinion of each and every film I see. They know that since I'm not beholden to the studio system, I'm going to be as frank and honest with every movie as I can be. This includes a number of individuals whose primary concern is whether or not there's anything out which they can show their kids or grandchildren. What's more, I've also learned that it is a rare thing to have an openly-religious movie reviewer working for a secular publication, something that helps me stand out that much more. And oh by the way, since I'm a regular part of the paper's writing pool, I was given the option of doing my own weekly edutainment column... wherein I'm allowed to write one church-related installment a quarter. And I'm on as a stringer now, too, meaning that I've done several pieces on the local LDS congregations. All because I accepted an offer I didn't anticipate ever getting.
