I have written this before and I am writing it again, anyone can learn anything. Sometimes we initially struggle with a concept or coordination, but the mind and body can be trained to do something new.

The idea of learning goes against our society’s obsession with raw talent. We love looking at kindergartners singing arias YouTube and applaud the Doogie Housers of the world. It’s easy to internalize the idea that some people are just born with it, but we discount our own potential. It is not too late to learn something new.

I knew a girl in my early twenties who wanted to be a runner. Growing up in a running town, I discounted her because she didn’t have the “body type” and most successful runners I knew started in their teens. She was motivated though, and would get up every morning in the dark and go running through the neighborhoods like a crazy person. She made the community college team and eventually worked her way up to team captain. Her body changed. She became an athlete.

Motivation alone can be a decider in whether someone wants to learn something, but they also have to have the means and opportunity. I had always wanted to play piano, but my two obstacles were having consistent access to an instrument and training because I didn’t “just pick it up.”

In fourth grade, we lived at a apartment complex with a little upright in a practice room. My mom got me lessons for a summer at the community center and I plinked out simple songs in the hot little space. We moved that fall and that was the end of that.

Later, my brother gave me his old Casio and I hauled it around with me as I moved, but I didn’t get lessons because finding a person with spare time that matched mine was hard. Once, I traded driving lessons for piano lessons with a high schooler, but she passed her test after two trades. I ended up donating the keyboard to the Salvation Army out in Erie, Pa, but I didn’t give up the dream.

Now at the age of 45, I have another keyboard, an app, and about 15 minutes I can squeeze out about three times a week. I am not going on any talent shows, but I can play through some simple pieces and not sound like a toddler falling down stairs. I knew it was possible because I see it every semester.

Currently, I am teaching a class on Cultural Studies online for Warner Pacific University. One of the students is a working mother of three and another is an immigrant from Nigeria. Both will be receiving their Bachelor’s degrees by the spring. If you want it, you can do it. You just need motivation, access and instruction.