Southern Nazarene University consists of students with various talents and intellectual capabilities specialized for their college majors and future careers. Along with special gifts, some SNU students have some pretty cool hidden talents as well.
SNU students, Nathan Hurt, Darius Petties, and Jacob Mash, each share what they consider to be their hidden talents. For Hurt, it’s “solving Rubik’s cubes. I can solve everything from 2×2 to 9×9.” Mash shares, “If you give me a movie, I can tell you what year it came out.” Finally, Petties states that his hidden talent is “speaking Mandarin.”
Mash explains how he discovered his hidden talent. “It is something that I really only discovered over time, as I was someone who owned multiple books that listed movies and would study them. Typically, the year always came after the title, so I would just immediately associate them together in my head.”
Hidden talents are a great way for students to do something that expresses their passion and explore their skill sets. Hurt shares, “Solving Rubik’s cubes has helped me improve my critical thinking skills and my problem-solving ability by being able to look at things from a different perspective.”
With hidden talents comes the possibility of judgment from others about their talents that can be deemed weird, abstract, or pointless. However, Petties states, “I’m proud of my hidden talent because I worked hard for it. I’m proud to tell people about it because it’s unique for someone like me to learn Mandarin, and I get to talk to people from different cultures.” Hurt shares a similar statement: “I am very proud of my hidden talent. It’s a very fun skill and hobby to learn because it exercises your mind and makes you think critically and intuitively while you’re solving.”
Hidden talents are not only a way to express yourself, but they can also bring out joy and contributions in multiple ways. This can include educating people on how to speak and write Mandarin, teaching people how to solve a Rubix cube, or using the knowledge of movies to inform or entertain others. Hurt shares some encouraging words with students about their hidden talents: “Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to show your talent to others. Everybody has talents that are unique that make us who we are. So, just have fun with it.”
Photos by: Jalan Washington