I was a kid who decided to optimize my childhood so I could take off after 18 when I'd finally be free to explore the world. Anyway there was 0 to do & nobody to do it w/ in my village. Concentrated on a sport that might pay me to live in Europe & got v good at it. Never once got a chance to play.

In retrospect it seems like a colossal waste of 6 years of daily practice; the world was never going to open any doors for me, skilled or not. Ironically the sole benefit came when I would casually play w/ foreign friends...they always found me amazing for being able to play their sport *at all*.