It's a variation on a tried and true theme, which has been broached in both The Incredibles and in my rationale for not driving medium-weight racers in Mario Kart.
If Roddy wasn't such a jerk, you'd almost feel bad for him. See, Roddy is one of those well-rounded geniuses. He's the guy who scores evenly in all standardized testing and has a knack for several of life's disciplines. Problem is, in a world of geniuses and prodigies, there's lots of specialization. (Heck, even the dreaded normals can have one attribute that is excellent!) No matter the competition, Roddy will always be trumped by a specialist in the field. His awards wall may be larger than anyone else's, but there are precious few #1 honors hanging. As Roddy is ultra-competitive by nature, this leads to inevitable frustration.
As all characters are a reflection of their creator, Roddy's struggle is my own. In art school, I hated the idea of specializing and suffered the consequences for it. See, you need to establish a stylistic identity to make an impression on people, and if you spend your time showing off how you can work in several styles - guess what? NO ONE CARES!
I eventually found my compromise. I have my own style that is present in all my work, making all of my pieces recognizably mine. With that identity, I can use my style as a base on which to expand to suit my need for variety. The major I chose, printmaking, is more of a consolidation of skills. It can incorporate drawing, painting, photography - any combination of techniques can be used to produce a print. For graduate work, I'm focusing on illustration - a discipline where versatility is key! It's a balance in life that keeps on moving forward. It took me until 25 to learn this. Roddy's 10, so he's screwed.
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