THE BRIGHT SIDE

When I was eleven I remember how much I could not stand studying English as a second language in Brazil. The problem was not the English language, but my preteen naivety that didn't let me see the difference between the language itself and the person who was in front of us trying to actually teach something.

My first Cs, Ds and there might have been an F as well might have come with English, but until that moment it was not my fault either. Luckily, I can't recall names and faces from those who were considered our teachers. And just to make sure, those were the only Cs, Ds and F in my entire school life in all the other school subjects.

The truth is that I didn't give up because of those people. I continued buying CDs from Alanis Morissette and listening to her songs without even noticing what was being sung. Happy was I when a cousin of mine told me that "What's my age again" was a Blink 182 song and I could finally find this song that I quite liked.

And how was I supposed to like English if all the teachers said in class was that there was a verb and its name was 'to be' or 'be' for the close ones and that the names of the months were... and days of the week, and the seasons of the year and next year all the thing over and over again. So, it will be impossible to see someone mastering English after years of elementary, high school and all the other levels of regular school in Brazil. (Exceptions might be reconsidered here and there)

The thing was that I was on the same boat as everyone else. And this boat, oh, was it sinking! By the age of thirteen I entered for the first time in my life a private English class with other six or seven students. I was afraid, not confident and didn't see the light of the end of the tunnel (especially because I was in the very beginning of it), but for about four years I had the chance to be introduced to the most fascinating, thrilling, interesting and dynamic Mr English. I learned to set my Brazilian Portuguese aside and think in English; and I memorized most of Blink 182's song and Alanis' as well.

Was I ready and fluent and confident and all the good things at once? No. And I'm still not and probably won't ever be. The simple explanation is that English, as any other living language, is alive! It changes every day. And this is one of the reasons I learned to love English: I will never be tired of it, because there will never be a day that a person will have mastered and conquered a language territory. Indeed, it's a long road. But it all depends on the side you take: the dark or the bright one.

I'm 27 today and I had no idea of what the future could hold. I did not imagine myself teaching languages, I did not see me as a teacher at all. But I love what I do and what I do is what I love besides a short list of things that I also love and will be seen here.

So, thanks for letting me share this moment with you and hope this blog becomes likable and desirable through time. This is surely the bright side, the one that I'm in and the direction that can take me up to any place I want to be.