Many years ago, when I was supposed to pick a career path, I had zero clue what I wanted to do with my life. It was the summer of 1994, and my parents took me to the seaside, where I met a group of teens my age. Like any teenager, I was there to have fun, soak up the sun, and maybe break a few rules. Among this crowd was an older girl, already a student at Kharkiv State University and majoring in English. I remember thinking, “Wow, how cool would it be to speak a foreign language?” And just like that, I was struck—lightning bolt style—with a plan: I would study languages.
One tiny problem: my English was terrible. But somehow, I was hooked. I’d listen to American and British songs on the radio, watch Hollywood movies (with Ukrainian dubbing), and strain to catch random words in the original English. True story—this is how I learned my first f-words! I even taught myself pronunciation, sitting for hours, drilling the sounds, trying to master those impossible vowels.
But by the next summer, my motivation was on life support. My mom pretty much dragged me to the university for the entrance exams. I didn’t score high enough to get in for free, so my parents had to pay for my tuition. Oh, and did I appreciate it? Not really. I was a classic slacker, spending most of my time partying and avoiding the classroom like the plague. Those first two years were what I like to call my “golden student years.” So many hearts broken, so many carefree days in a swirl of fun. Long live the student life!
There was just one tiny catch: my English wasn’t getting any better. My class was split into two groups—the “strong” group and the “weak” group. Guess where I ended up? Yep, the weak group. By the end of the year, I barely scraped by on my English exam. My teacher told me my English was “poor” and flat-out said I’d never be fluent. Excuse me? Never tell me “you can’t.” I was shocked—and furious. That was my moment. I looked her in the eye and thought, “Watch me.”
Years have gone by, and I have no idea where that teacher is now. But I do know exactly where I am. I’m an English teacher, proud of the journey that brought me here and ready to prove that, yes, I can. And if I can, so can you!