An amazing painter or a brilliant mathematician?

Have you ever wondered what you would answer if you were asked this question?

I am now in charge of running an event at work where we collect “themes” like these to engage the team and encourage people to share and get to know each other. While collecting topics, I came across this question, along with quite a few other such questions.

This gave me an idea! I’ve been looking for inspiration to write again. Here it is!

So, if I really had a choice, I would definitely choose to be a painter. Somehow that gives me more satisfaction than numbers. That is not to say I hate mathematics. I was always a lover of simple algebra. In fact, back in school, I was always excellent at algebra. I would love to spend endless hours just solving sums in algebra but I was never very good at geometry though. And calculus! Oh, how much I hated calculus! Then, in engineering, we got even tougher mathematics and I just lost interest.

Painting on the other hand, gives me a strange sense of satisfaction. I don’t paint much since I have no sense of color and color blending. I have satisfied that side of myself for years by just focusing on drawing. Even there, I cannot draw from memory. I can only copy. After coming to the US, I found out about Paint By Numbers! This was perfect for me. I promptly purchased a bunch of them and spent quite a few weekends just painting my heart out. It broke my back but I couldn’t stop myself. Eventually though, I had to stop since the bucks were starting to add up and I was beginning to accumulate a whole bunch of paintings that I didn’t know what to do with.

How I wish I could actually paint and make a career out of it. I am fighting (and failing to some extent) very hard to stay focused and build a career in the corporate world. But, every now and then, my “other side” creeps in and reminds me how I am being untrue to myself. An internal battle ensues and the practical side wins every single time! I have no talent to fall back on. Everything I ever pursued in life, I gave up on. I never pursued anything long enough to actually get good at anything. If I were to give up my fight to find happiness in the corporate world, what would I do to sustain my life? I have quite the lavish lifestyle that I am not ready to give up. Money doesn’t buy happiness but it certainly buys everything else!

But that was not the question! The question was “if” I were to choose, what would I choose? And the answer will always be – a painter!