When I was 13, I decided I wanted to learn piano because I heard Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and became obsessed with it. I already knew how to read sheet music from performing in choirs since the 3rd grade, so I just had to figure out where middle-C was on the piano and pluck out the rest of the keys from there. It only took me 2 weeks to completely decipher and memorize the Moonlight Sonata, without any instruction or lessons.

I was a natural at the piano, and I taught myself more complicated pieces over the next handful of years. My wife is super jealous of my skill because she had to take 4 years of piano lessons for her music college degree, and I, without any formal lessons, can play better than her.

Fast-forward a few decades. I haven't been around pianos for so long, I've forgotten most everything I learned. I just bought a fancy electric piano at an estate sale (normally costs $5,000; family was willing to sell it for $240!) and I'm excited to play again, but I've been afraid to just sit down and figure out where my skill level is at now. Gonna be a lot of hard work just to get back into it. And I'm old now, so I'm hardly the impressive "teen piano genius" I used to be. Now I'm just an old guy who might remember how to pick at a few simple songs on the piano.

Getting old sucks. Especially if you don't keep up your skills. You're special if you have great skills as a kid. But if you're old, people just assume you've had a lifetime of practice. And that's if you kept up with it over the years.