Talent: Given or Won?

sometimes I wonder if the intangible thing of talent is a birth-talent, or if it's the product of years of hard determination.

I have heard of those studies, both of the autistic and not, who, at young ages, were able to master techniques usually unheard of until the high school level in visual arts. Yet, Divinci was not born with a pen, painting the mona lisa, or developing his air-crafts. He studied, and learned it through his hard work.

I, myself, have been always honored with a talent when it comes to art. Since elementary school I was always labeled the artist, and honored for the talent I seemed to have. I don't doubt I am a bit gifted- but I think, it is also because I love art that I grew as I did. If you are given a talent, but detest the area, you won't excel.

Yet, I am also a lover of prose. Stories, mainly fantasy (Yes, I'm a scifi nerd!) enthrall me to no end. I can get lost for days in the pages of a good novel, and find that until I finish it, nothing else can tempt me. similarly, I am an avid writer. But I was not always a skilled writer. When I began my love of words around sixth grade, I was, in most respects, a joke. But I grew. I practiced hard, I wrote endlessly every day, I split my imagination into text, and I grew. I became a somewhat-decent writer through this work, and through my constant reading.

So I wonder- is talent something one can conguer, or is it given at birth? Personally, I don't know, but the idea intrigues me.