Language and Eloquence

Over the past 3-4 months, I've had the opportunity to share an apartment with a roommate that always leaves me jealous and envious at his ability to speak and debate. Well, debate I suppose may not be accurate, since I've never actually heard him debate, but he's been very good about speaking his mind on subjects and his manner with words fascinates me. I share many of his opinions on subjects ranging from politics to sports, exercise, music, and many other subjects, yet as I listen to him I can't help but think, "Man, how in the world can a person state so well his thoughts on a subject?" Of course, if I knew the answer to said question, I could very simply go on and improve and perhaps eventually perfect my own oratorial skills.

I've spent many years studying and learning Spanish. I am fascinated by language and linguistics, but might not be able to tell you the difference between the two. Yet, in my nearly 14 years of time learning Spanish, and even from my experiences in high school attempting to learn German, which came after a very unsuccessful attempt at learning Spanish, I do not possess the oral skills such as those possessed by my roommate. How might I develop this? Is it that I simply don't have the vocabulary? Is it Sam's experiences he's had of the very act of speaking and sharing his thoughts that has developed this ability? Is it all of these? Is there something else to it of which I am not even thinking?

This may be a very philosophical question, or I may just be moronic and naive in so many of the experiences I have had. I wonder how I build on what I have and know to grow to such a point. Is this a skill that I can still develop?

Background: I currently work for a major insurance company, in a call center environment regarding questions of insurance that very much anymore are very repetitive. I feel that I have a very well rounded background and education, that I feel allow me to relate very well to those I serve in my career. At the same time, I feel like the cliched "jack of all trades, master of none" where I understand myriad subjects, yet none of them thoroughly. For example, I understand life insurance, since in fact that is what I currently work in and can explain very well the differences between term life, whole life, and universal life insurance. I understand the policies offered, albeit now or in the past, offered by my company in how they work. Life insurance is a specific part of the "financial services" industry, but having very in depth knowledge of how my employer's policies operate in a very in depth sense is such a specific knowledge that it doesn't seem to apply to nearly anything else. Ask me why it's important to have life insurance, and I can go on for hours about the various types of policies and why each is beneficial; however, on a more broad scale, I could not even begin to discuss investments overall and what is the difference between a Roth or a Traditional IRA and why each may be more beneficial than the other. Ask me how to invest money for the best growth, and I would likely tell you to buy a universal life policy, even though such a step is clearly not the "best" investment strategy for long-term financial prosperity.

Okay, that tangent is a little bit long. The point is that I feel I have a very broad range of experiences and knowledge about many, many subjects, but much of what I have learned is so specific so as to make it feel like it is nearly pointless, at least so far as practicality is concerned. Then again, maybe I am just entirely too pensive today. Well, hey, at least I now have a blog entry that's more than one paragraph long.

Next, after the above questions comes the question, how do I answer these questions? And, once answered or at least attempted to answer, do I dare post this for all to see and then show the fallacies of my mind? Then again, what good would it be to leave this entry as private, and never to grow from the experience of sharing my thoughts with those around me?