system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[ATLA/TLOK] How much of Toph’s earthbending skills come from her own innate power versus learning from the badgermoles?

Toph was taught by the badgermoles, who are supposed to be the first Earthbenders. Because of her blindness, she was able to compensate by learning the Seismic Sense from them. This is one of her greatest strengths as a bender, on top of already learning the “pure” earthbending. But how much of her skill actually comes from her power? Is she supposed to be above-average like Zuko, getting the chance to learn the proper earthbending? Or is she more like Azula, a born prodigy?
gpt
Toph has very unique relationship with Earthbending. Not only through learning from the badger moles, which grants her a unique perspective on Earthbending by itself, but it's also literally how she perceives the world and largely how she defines herself.

Bending allowed her to be something other than "that poor little blind girl" that her parents treated her as, first as the Blind Bandit, which gave her release and affirmation that she could take care of herself. Then as the teacher of the Avatar, which reaffirmed her image of herself as the best Earthbender in the world. 

Earthbending is almost literally everything to her, even in LoK she uses Earthbending to keep tabs on essentially the whole world. 

All of this is said to say that it's pretty much impossible to tell how much of her "power" is innate raw ability and how much is honed skill. But also she is very, *very*, ***very*** skilled because she's constantly Earthbending, every moment of every day. Even in her sleep, she perceives vibrations through her bending.