Who Am I?
What’s good with it?
Welcome to my blog. This is something that I’ve never really done before apart from writing in my journal. I want to give you a piece of me and at the same time, introduce you to what you can expect from in the future.
So, before I moved to Poland – and we will get into that later – I was your standard American boy. Living in Detroit, I served tables and went to class. I studied Special Education – Autism when I was in college. Those were fun times. Being able to do my student teaching with the children within Detroit Public School was a blessing because it felt like I was giving back in a way. Giving back to the youth just as teachers instilled their knowledge of me when I was their age. Waiting tables came with ease, if anything, it only enhanced my abilities when it pertained to interacting with people. Again, I can and will go into more detail on that in the future because that job definitely taught me some valuable life lessons. Lessons that still stick to me to this day.
Now, why Poland?! It is a very long story. But I can say this story began June 18, 2013. Spurs vs Heat. The NBA Finals. 19 seconds left. If the Spurs can just hold on, they will win the series and become the NBA Champions. But as fate would have it that day, Ray Allen would hit a clutch 3 to force overtime, which subsequently allowed The Heat to pull away and force a Game 7. Now, you’re probably thinking what does basketball have to do with Poland. Well, after staying up late due to chatting with my friends about the game, and sulking over the fact I would have to wait until Game 7 to see if the Spurs could win so that I can win my bet of $300, I ended up oversleeping. I was awaken to the sound of my alarm, so I thought. It was a phone call from friend. She needed help getting to the USA from Poland. That one person, would change my life forever. And it’s all thanks to one of the greatest shots in NBA history. Again, I promise to go into more details in the future, so you must stay tuned. You can see that shot here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr6XsZVb-ZE&ab_channel=NBA
At the time of this writing, I’m entering the prime of my life. Turning 30 for some people is a blessing, and for others a curse. I view it as the perfect opportunity to become the best version of myself. A clean slate. I also, view it as a chance to evolve as an educator and a learner (I study Polish in my free time). When I think about my students and their strengths and weaknesses, I find myself in each and every one of them. Some students know the language of English but are afraid to speak. I’m in the same boat because I know what I want to say in Polish, yet I tend to forget how to pronounce the words or structure my sentences properly. Some students can speak with ease, but have troubles with the grammar. Again, just like me because I have no problems speaking, but when it comes time to use proper Polish grammar, I find myself speaking in tongue more than I’m saying actual Polish words.
The beautiful thing about all this is that it’s perfectly fine to be imperfect. Frederick Douglass once said in 1857 “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” I fully understand that now. As we venture together in our journey of English, I aim to help make the process a bit easier for you. Whether its sharing my insight as a teacher, a native speaker, or a learner.
To close this, I’m going to use my favorite sport, American Football as a reference. I love the game because all the twists and turns that come in it. There are moments where you are high and mighty and everything seems to be going right, but then a fumble messes up all those plans. But still there will always be a moment where on the final drive you can put the ball in the end zone and achieve greatness. That is how I view this next chapter of my life. I may have fumbled the ball in my 20s, but now as I approach my 30s, I have the ball on my final drive, ready to score a touchdown. So, let’s be the quarterbacks our life and strive for excellence.
It will bring me no greater joy in knowing somehow, someway, my words reached you and inspired you to be better.
Stay gucci.
