When I was in school I wasn’t very good at English at all. In fact I actually disliked learning any language; I was much more into sports, math and music. These subjects came easy to me, I considered myself a star in all three subjects and it showed on my grades as well.

But English, oh man how I dreaded seeing “English class” on my schedule. At the time I was in high school and as much as I hated English I considered myself as a very ambitious student. So I knew I had to do something about my grade in English. My teacher was a skinny old woman who mostly felt out of place in her environment. No one was good enough, smart enough or trying hard enough. She was a teacher who was very hard to please and who had very high standards for what she would consider an excellent student.

I wasn’t trying to get an A in English or anything because I knew how hard that was going to be, considering I couldn’t even finish a sentence in English without stuttering and feeling embarrassed.

So I said to myself that I’m a realistic girl, my only aim was to get better at English and if in the process I accidentally impressed my teacher, it would be a bonus!

I remember that the summer holidays were just about to start and I was so excited to go home and start getting better at English, somehow. We got this book that we were supposed to read during the holidays and it was called, “the catcher in the rye”.

Holidays started and with it, I started reading. The only thing that was clear to me was that I was going to read this book until I understood every single word in it. And I was going to learn and remember each and every word of this book before the summer ends. It was a tiny book but for me it was a book that was going to change my entire life. Because this little book is how I started my journey of teaching myself English.

I also asked myself, how can I learn English and have fun doing it? You might remember that I mentioned how much I hated studying English. So for me to be able to study to the best of my ability I needed to find a way to enjoy myself while doing it. So I came up with a brilliant plan. I was going to watch English movies which I liked but my commitment was to push the pause button each time I noticed a word I didn’t understand and then learn how to use that word in writing or speaking.

I pushed the pause button more than I watched the movies, that much was for sure but on the other hand I was slowly but steadily getting better and better. I practiced speaking with people in my surroundings who were really good at it. I wrote essays, thoughts, made up stories and what not only to practice my writing skills. I made sure someone helped me correct my mistakes as well, to get better each time.

My excitement was quite high but I still wasn’t aware of how much I had grown. Only way to find that out was to wait until school started again. And as the holidays were about to come to an end I felt quite confident and scared at the same time. What if I haven’t learnt enough to impress my teacher? What if I’m not good enough? What if I’m just not fit to learn English? Many more “what if’s” came up in my mind like unwanted virus.

After many ifs and buts the summer holidays had come to an end and it was time for my commitment to be put to the test. I remember it like it was yesterday, everyone entered the classroom feeling nervous because half of them hadn’t even read the book we were about to write an essay on. Outside the classroom everyone had been talking about how much fun they had during the holidays and what they had been doing. I said to my friends that I had a wonderful holiday as well but I’ve also been studying a lot.

Now everyone was seated and the feeling in the room was intense. It started to sink in for all of us, school has started and it’s time to get serious. If you don’t, you would have to suffer through the embarrassment of getting a lower grade. And on top of that, a teacher that despises you for not trying.

All I can remember is that my pen never stopped writing. Every time that I had the misfortune to sit near a student who kept writing when I couldn’t come up with anything I always glanced sideways at them in adoration. But I also hated them for being so smart, confident and well prepared for the exam because the more they wrote the more it made me feel insignificant and stupid. Like they had all the answers while I had zero, nothing! I think you might be able to relate to that feeling.

Well today I was that “annoying” student who couldn’t stop writing and let me tell you it felt gooood. I was on fire! I kept writing and writing, feeling the side way glances on me but that didn’t stop me at all it just kept me going even more.

After the exam was done I felt silly for having been worried so much. Whatever grade I get on this it should be a good one.

Time was passing dreadfully slowly but it was finally here, the exam results. I felt as if this was the defining moment of my life! I was quite a passionate and dramatic (sounds familiar?) teenager. Everyone was being handed out their essays with the grades written somewhere, not in the front that much was clear because everyone was trying to turn to the page where the grade was written.

I got mine. Where is it? Where is it? I thought as I frantically turned page after page. There it was! Or was it really? Could it be true or was I only dreaming?

The grade was written with red ink, A+. But there was more! I quote:

“Selma, be proud of yourself, this is one of the best essays I’ve ever read!”

I almost had tears in my eyes, all the struggling and hard work had paid off, more than I could ever have imagined. I was so proud of myself and when some of my friends found out they were really surprised how our teacher actually wrote something like that to me. They realized how incredibly good my essay must have been for her to have written something like that. Most importantly, I realized it.

But my journey didn’t end there and let me tell you I still didn’t get an A in English. I got a B.

Let me be clear on one thing, I personally don’t think grades determine your success in life. But for me getting that A+ was not just a grade, it was an acknowledgement of all my hard work and determination. What I do believe is this, that with hard work and determination you can achieve a lot of great things. To achieve anything in life I personally think we need more qualities than that although hard work and determination goes a long way by itself; it is for sure the foundation.

I obviously continued my English studies but not through school, on my own time. I read books, listened to audiotapes, went to seminars, watched movies and seminars at home, kept on writing and speaking as much as I could. And now I have my own blog, which I am so proud of. The journey is still ongoing for me to learn how to get better each day at the English language. I was a student in English and now I’m a student of life. I always strive to learn, grow and better myself in any way possible. Oh and the miracle that occurred here is that today, I actually LOVE the English language!

So much so, that I prefer speaking English rather than my own native language which is Swedish.

I never would have thought that I would one day be running my own blog written in English in the attempt to touch people’s heart and inspire them to change to better their lives. But here I am.

You can take anything out of this story or nothing at all, that’s up to you obviously. But what I would like you to take out of it is that you can also do what I did. Anyone can. This is quite a “small” achievement if you want to compare it to making bigger changes, I won’t argue against that.

But I want you to know that the foundation is the same when it comes to the qualities which you need to succeed at anything. Taking the necessary action and working really hard, having the passion and determination will make anything happen for you. I will put it all into a list of things which I did and that you can do as well right here.

1. Set a goal where you specifically define what it is that you want. For me it was getting better at English, which was still quite vague because I didn’t decide how much better I wanted to become. So you want to be as specific as possible. Starting a business in (write what area), losing weight (write how much), more loving relationship (write exactly how that would look to you), finding your life partner (write exactly what qualities you want in that person) and so on.
2. How will you get there? Write down how you will achieve your goal. If you don’t know how, do the research, there will most likely be others who have already achieved what you want to achieve. Ask them, look what they did and do the same. Else write down ways in which you know you can achieve your goals. Come up with ideas, actions you can take on a daily basis, people you will need, books, tools etc. Write it all down.
3. Set a time frame. Very important, after each goal, write down when you wish to achieve it. Don’t worry if you don’t succeed with the time that you have set, that doesn’t matter. What matters are that you have a time set for yourself and that will make you keep working on it rather than procrastinating and pushing it off. So how much time do you give yourself to find your life partner for example? In how much time will you lose x amount of weight? Etc.
4. Take action! ­­­­ Go to work and give it your very best, do everything you can to achieve your goals. Work on your goals every day and stay committed, keep going especially when it feels hard.
5. Celebrate. This is just as important as all the above. When I got an A+ on my essay I was tremendously proud and that feeling will allow you to keep making new goals and going for more things which you want in life. Celebrating your victory also helps you to be present by being happy for what you have done in that moment. It’s also a way of showing love to oneself.
6. Set new goals and keep growing.

Thank you for reading! I really hope you found this post helpful. If you like this post, please share it with your friends and family. And make sure you subscribe to our newsletters to get updates on new content.

Choose to be happy,

Selma

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