The Nature of Magic

Ever notice how the nature of magic is different in different stories?  In some, like the book I'm reading now Skinwalker by Faith Hunter and the last book I read, Never Again by Michele Bardsley, magic was something someone was born with.  You were either a witch or wizard or you weren't.  You couldn't change it.

I don't think that's really how it works.

I do believe in magic, real, true magic, but not like that.  I think magic is something anyone can learn to do.  I do think it is like any other subject in that some people will be more talented than others and seem to pick up on it enough that they may think of themselves as being a "natural witch" but I don't think it is any different than being a "natural reader" or a "natural mathematician" or a "natural scientist" or anything else like that.

And I don't think doing magic necessarily makes you "evil" like some people think about someone practicing magic or "witchcraft" any more than driving a car makes you evil or even shooting a gun makes you evil.  If you drive a car with the intention of running an innocent person over, that could be construed (and rightly so, in my opinion) as being evil.  If you drive that car in your daily life, I don't think that makes you evil.  If you shoot a gun to kill someone (outside of self defense or to protect others):  evil.  Shooting a gun to hunt to feed your family that might otherwise go hungry: not evil.  Practicing magic to improve your life without hurting anyone:  not evil.  Using magic to harm or influence others' free will:  evil.  I know some people would disagree with me on all of those, but that's my opinion, and I'm sticking with it. 

What do you think?