My scientific work has provided the deepest satisfaction of my life.
Marie Curie
Your Year of the Unsanctioned Skill. This is the year the thing you taught yourself in secret, the thing nobody assigned or rewarded or even asked about, steps forward and does something useful that surprises everyone, including you a little. A project in spring needs exactly the odd capability you developed for your own reasons, and when you bring it out, the fit is almost funny. By summer, what began as a private pursuit has found a real audience, one that does not quite know what to make of you yet, which is the best kind of audience. Something concealed becomes something celebrated. The year opens the door before you feel fully ready. Walk through with the unusual thing in your hands and your best poker face on.