Crap. I'm'a look like a huge bragger in this post :\ ...
1. What talents do you have and kept to this day?
Way too many, and they're sometimes to my advantage and sometimes to my disadvantage:
✰ I pick up languages extremely easily. I can understand and use words by context without a dictionary. I hear it once and can pronounce it the same way. I hadn't taken Spanish in four years, but because I'm fluent in French (not my mother tongue, mind ye) I was basically able to speak Spanish very well and with confidence, as well as write and pretty much answer any question thrown my way. My grasp of languages has been an attractive quality for teachers over the last few years; teachers who, busy with their work, have asked me to tutor, teach classes, mark papers and even come up with new assignments on their behalf. Might seem like they're taking advantage of me, but wanting to be a teacher myself I am inclined to agree to it all!
✰ Being good at languages also means I'm good at writing lol I wrote a 30,000-word book at thirteen followed by another book much longer - 88,000 words (Think: Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone) - at, again, thirteen but proof-read on the computer at fifteen. I've won school English awards for writing in the past, and I am currently working on a rewrite of the 88,000-word novel with some changes and quirks to perfect character development and render the scenario and plot more complex.
✰ I can speed-read and only extract what's important. Good for university and studying, I'd say. Give me any novel of interest with around 250 pages or so and I'll have it done within 2-3h.
✰ Give me half an hour with a piano, flute or ocarina and I'll have at least one video game theme learnt i.e. Mario theme, WindWaker opening theme, etc. without sheet music. Summary: I have an incredible "ear" for music that allows me to learn to play without actually having learnt to play, just because I can recognize notes well.
✰ Going alongside that, I think I sing pretty well since I hear notes and can typically sing them at the same pitch (if too low or too high, I'll do an octave higher or lower to go with my vocal range). My dad picks on me a lot, especially about much lower songs that I sing higher, but I do believe I have a good voice. Sometimes, when I sing overlapping other songs, I can't even hear the original because the pitch is spot-on and makes the two indecipherable from one another.
✰ Math concepts. My memory is poor, but I can learn a concept very quickly (so says my teachers); just retaining it for the next day is hard. Compound interest usually took my math teacher a week and a half to teach to her students, but I picked it up in a 30min session.
✰ I can never really be unhappy or depressed for too long, especially at work. I'm always been told that I'm the happiest, brightest, cheeriest and perkiest person there. Co-workers and clients alike don't understand how on two hours of sleep, I can be the most pleasant, kind and patient person in the store at 7am. Just the fact it's 7am and I'm like that surprises them lol I can make people who are angry about store policies or their service feel respected and appreciated at the end of the complaint or dispute. Maybe it's not really a "talent," but to be able to make others feel amazing - even if you're not over the moon yourself - is very important and special for me.
2. What talents do you use to have in the past?
✰ I used to be pretty good at art. I drew dragons and a really realistic eye. I'm sure if I applied myself again, I coud learn new techniques, etc. and be a marvel of dA. Shading is probably my forte.
3. What talents do you wish you've had?
✰ Although I have a keen ear for music, I've never actually tried to compose. I just don't have the time. I wish I had the passion for it, and if the talent isn't there for that part, then the talent for it, too.
✰ I'd love to be better at logic games like chess or Go. My IQ is high up there, but I've never really played these even though they are of interest to me. I remember losing in chess all time against my dad when I was ten or so, though lol Although one time, I took his queen and he was o___0!
✰ If my singing isn't as great as I think it is, then I'd like to be good at that, too! But who knows...
✰ Sports, especially soccer and hockey. I was always on defense because I can kick far, or on goalie even though I'm not the greatest runner and I'm scared to throw myself into the ball's way to block it. We won a miniature hockey tournament at my school, though when I was thirteen, but that wasn't so much talent as teamwork.
Not sure what else to put :x maybe I'll edit later, if I can think of something...