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23submissions
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Hey Pandas, What Skill Were You Surprised To Discover You Possess?
Shocked to realize you sing well? Surprised to be "mopping the gymnasium floor" with opponents? Might your "double-jointed-ness" rival Cirque du Soleil's acrobats? What natural talent (or fortunate trait) do you have, and how did you discover it?
When I was about seven, I lacked the upper-body strength (and height) to make many overhand baskets in basketball. However, my bucket shots would consistently sink through the net from almost anywhere on the court. My uncles almost stopped playing "Horse" with me because my aim was so accurate. Summer evenings often saw half the town gathered in our driveway, cheering me on and bettering rivals. What a time! I felt like the LeBron James of the Undercarriage!
Unfortunately, around puberty, I lost that underhand skill. (And my overhand was never much to write home about.) Tell me about your "glory days" - I'd love to hear!
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#1
One day I suddenly discovered my ability to spend hours on BP
Final score:
8points
Deutschland Mädchen 2 years ago
Hey we share the same skill! Mine comes with a bonus lack of sleep because 'one more post'
#2
I'm blind but I'm really good at inline skating! Scares my mom to death.
Final score:
6points
#3
I've been writing stories since I could pick up a pen, and my parents always said I was a great writer for my age. This October, I decided to try and publish my fanfic online, and what baffled by how well people told me I wrote.
Final score:
4points
#4
singing! ok, i have no musical knowledge at all, but apparently i have a really good voice 😂
Final score:
3points
#5
Singing, acting, and playing instruments. My family is more on the instrumental side of things, I still haven’t figured out where the other two came from. Other than that, I’m also really good at sports and academics (not math tho)
Final score:
3points
#7
The fact that I could do the splits without trying
Final score:
2points
#8
My natural typing speed is around 60 wpm, when I'm trying to go fast it's around 70, and my fastest typing speed is in the 80s when I'm really desperate.
Final score:
2points
Polar_bear_lover 2 years ago
My typing speed is around like 30 wpm when I'm not really trying, but when I am trying it is like 40 LOL
#9
I can make my ring finger and only my ring finger move on command.
I have no clue how I discovered this it was probably sometime in kindergarten
Final score:
1point
#10
I think I'm pretty good at singing...
Final score:
1point
#11
fighting ig, I've gotten into a fair few fights and won most of them despite the fact I don't have any training. I have very powerful legs, and people have said my elbows are sharp enough to be blades.
Final score:
0points
#12
I am like, really good at skip rope
Final score:
0points
#13
I can twist my arm all the way and I have ACHOO syndrome
Final score:
0points
#15
Poetry and a good work ethic. Have tons of work experience and work very hard. Grew up in a family where my dad lived on my mother disability check. I am surprised I turned out how I did.
Final score:
0points
#16
I am pretty good at remembering and identifying voices. Also, I do have ESP sometimes, which is sometimes recognizing patterns, then knowing what happens next.
Final score:
0points
#18
I have quite a few. I can either get or give good or bad luck. Like for a competition, I got on a team that needed an extra person. We won and went to state, and when we went to state, another team from our school needed someone, so I joined, and we placed third! I did get my mom mad and it got us all into a car crash though.
Instruments. I Play two instruments (violin and piano) and I've played violin since I was 4, and piano since I was 6 or 7. I can also sing and I learned vibrato relatively early and quickly.
Speaking of quickly, I can learn quickly. What my brother has practiced 100 times when he was 4 stuck with me at age 2. That's also how I get high grades and how I was an advanced/GT student.
Avid artist, Poet, Writer, (currently writing a book) and youngest high school course starter in our family(7th grade).
But maybe my luck has something to do with my birthday being on the 13th. (ha ha)
Final score:
0points
#19
I used to downplay this, but I can comfort and counsel nearly anyone I talk to, and that’s almost a superpower. I have a lot of psychological empathy and a tendency to see through people after talking to them for a little while. I can get someone to open up about deep vulnerabilities, or even pop the topic myself, and talk to them about that thing. I can be gentle enough that I leave the other person healed, even relieved, and holding their head a little higher. The other person feels safe around me, and I personally find it a little uncanny, because being sensitive is like brain surgery. One misstep can do a lot more damage, the deeper into their vulnerability you go. The closer you get to the core of a person, the more effective your impact. I’ve almost never had someone get angry at me, or walk away hurt after talking about something as deep and triggering as their regrets, self-esteem, or loss. I’ve had them feel really sad, but then seek my comfort. I’ve had people end up liking me when I feared they’d be hurt by me telling them to face a very hard truth. And they’d listen. I’m great at resolving conflict, too. It feels like the opposite of manipulation, when you’re authentic, and telling people why they do what they do to themselves, and show them how they ought to treat themselves. You just want them to see their own value and live by it. Admittedly, I should use it on myself more often. I eventually discovered, though, that even this form of empathy can ironically have a dark side. I once forced an abusive narcissistic parent who was being cruel and manipulative to suffer a panic attack. Just saw through him and slashed at every narcissistic injury I saw, and watched him crumble to a screaming and crying mess in a few minutes. He was suddenly like a small child inside, desperately and defensively trying to pass himself off as an adult. And it was horrifying to see the what I could do. I realized later, though, that’s not the kind of person I want to be to everyone around me. If heredity has anything to say about this, I think it partially explains why my parents are psychos. And why I should not be like them. Cognitive empathy is like a free-for-all access card to people’s vulnerabilities. It’s a lot of power for one person. Almost too much. Emotional empathy helps you be gentle and care about the other’s well being. The moment you factor emotional empathy out of the equation(out of anger, sociopathy, vengeance, bias, or narcissism), you can do some really messed up stuff. Or you can just be a lot more objective, on a mundane and harmless level.
Final score:
0points
Raccoon panda (Submission author) 2 years ago (edited)
To clarify, yes, sometimes I really do get people to cry without meaning to, but I make sure they walk away comforted. Emotions are really difficult. But I’ve watched people I talk to let go of some of their trauma, finding hope and reassurance. And that’s what I live for. When I tell people a hard truth, they often listen, but I again don’t want to hurt them. I want them to stop being self-destructive, so they can also grab onto a lighthearted truth as well, that they are worthy of being treated well, even by themselves. My biggest fear around cognitive empathy is that people often use it to manipulate and destroy each other rather than heal each other. It’s the most powerful, and ironically most dangerous form of empathy if used wrong. I fear that day when I might snap, because the world can be a very cruel place.
#20
Planting and growing vegetables. Discovered late in life that there is immense pleasure in this as well as enjoying giving fruit and veg to friends and neighbours. Also harvesting our own olives and getting them pressed. And don't get me going about my chickens.
Final score:
0points
Brenda 2 years ago
Given the research, I can write a research paper in less than 2 days. Lowest grade on a paper was a 95. Written in 10 hours. My empathy is off the charts ,according to my psychology professors (you take tests - i took 3)I truly connect with people, even ones I just met. Sometimes I get hurt because I want to believe in the best in others. But usually I'm able to help, point them in the right direction, give advice or just listen to them. I love helping people
#21
I can wiggle all my toes. As weird as it sounds it is true. My brother can only wiggle one foot along with one of my sisters. The rest can't.
Final score:
0points
#22
I learned that I can use both stilts and pogostick. Didn't take that long to be able to use suprisingly enough.
Final score:
0points
#23
I do not write things down because if I write it down most of the time I’ll probably forget everything about it
And if you hang out with me for long enough you will just want to be my friend
I have thick and strong legs but my bones just barely exist
Final score:
0points
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