English_nelli

Suddenly, it’s September, and I realize how different my life looks from a year ago.

A new country, new routines, new people, new challenges — and so many moments I never could have planned for. Life in America has been about adapting, learning, teaching, volunteering, meeting people from different cultures, and slowly creating a new sense of home.

Sometimes you don’t notice how much your life is changing while you’re living it. Then one day, you look back and realize just how far you’ve come.

Apparently “teaching English” means being a teacher, therapist, actress, translator, IT support, motivational speaker and emergency problem solver… sometimes all before 10 a.m.

And then someone asks: “Why are you tired?”

Teachers, what unofficial job would you add to the list?

Sometimes you can learn something about a person before they tell you anything about themselves.

Look at what they choose to read.

Not because a single book can define someone, but because our reading choices often reflect what currently occupies our minds: the questions we are thinking about, the ideas we are drawn to, the worlds we want to enter, or the emotions we are trying to understand.

A bookshelf can reveal patterns.

Someone who repeatedly reaches for biographies may be fascinated by people, choices, and turning points. Someone drawn to psychology may be trying to understand human behavior. Someone who loves historical fiction may be interested in how individual lives are shaped by larger events. And someone reading poetry may be drawn to language, emotion, and meanings that are difficult to express directly.

Reading is private, but our choices are rarely random.

So when I notice what someone is reading, I don’t think, “Now I know this person.”

I think, “Now I know something about what their mind is drawn to.”

Sometimes the book in someone’s hands can tell you something they haven’t told you themselves.

What are you reading currently?

You don’t have to feel ready to begin. Sometimes confidence comes only after you take the first step, make mistakes, learn, and keep going. Starting over in a new country is hard, but waiting until you feel completely prepared can keep you waiting forever.

Starting over isn’t always failure. Sometimes it’s what learning looks like.

As adults, we’re often embarrassed to begin again — a new language, a new country, a new career, even a new version of ourselves. We think we should already know more, speak better, feel more confident.

But language learning is full of restarts. You forget. You hesitate. You lose confidence. You come back.

And sometimes the second beginning is better — because this time, you know yourself better.

Don’t be afraid to start over. Your next chapter might sound completely different.

Doctor or lawyer?

I chose a profession where I diagnose pronunciation problems, prescribe more practice, argue about grammar, and occasionally provide emotional support before an exam.

So technically… a little bit of both.

English teacher it is.

Learning rarely looks like a straight line.

Sometimes you study and still forget the word.
You practice and still make the same mistake.
You speak confidently one day and struggle to form a sentence the next.

That doesn’t mean you’re going backwards.

Learning is messy because your brain is building, reorganizing, testing, forgetting, and trying again.

A lot can go wrong before things finally start to feel right.

So if English feels difficult today, don’t use one difficult day as evidence that you’re not improving.

Keep going. One day, something that once required all your concentration will simply come naturally.

What is something in English that used to feel impossible but feels easy now?

Bilingualism is more than speaking two languages. It is carrying two ways of understanding, connecting, and experiencing the world.

Every word you learn, every conversation you struggle through, and every time you choose to keep using both languages is preparing you for opportunities you cannot see yet.

Keep going. One day, the language you are working on today may take you somewhere you never imagined. 🌎✨

As teachers, we tell our students not to be afraid of mistakes.

Speak even if it isn’t perfect.
Try even if you’re unsure.
Don’t overthink every word.
Trust the process.

And then we make one tiny mistake ourselves and replay it in our heads for the next three business days.

Maybe one of the hardest lessons we teach is also the one we need to learn ourselves: progress doesn’t require perfection.

Teaching is a profession where people constantly need something from you.

An explanation.
A grade.
Feedback.
An answer.
Another chance.
More time.
More patience.

And as teachers, we give. A lot.

But some of the most meaningful moments in education happen when the relationship stops being purely transactional.

When a student stays after class just to talk.
When they tell you about something that happened in their life.
When they come back years later just to say hello.
When they remember something you once told them that had nothing to do with grammar, vocabulary, or a test.

Because students may enter our classrooms for what we teach…

but sometimes they remember us for who we were while teaching it.

And perhaps that is one of the most beautiful parts of being an educator.