Thanks to the Pandemic...

My motto in life is always to find something positive to focus on, even in difficult situations. 

My favorite quote is "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade." 

This mindset was especially important during the first Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.

It was then that I decided to improve my English skills on my own.

I distinctly remember the moment it happened: while watching an interview of Justin Timberlake and Ellen DeGeneres on YouTube. They laughed a lot and I couldn't understand what they were saying.

How could this be after years of studying English at school?

I began questioning my ability to learn foreign languages.

Were my teachers right when they said languages weren't my strong suit?

I decided to challenge that belief. I didn't want to limit myself in that way.

So, I started researching how to learn languages from scratch.I watched numerous videos of polyglots sharing their methods and experiences. I focused on their most effective strategies and the steps they took in their language-learning journeys. I learned that listening was the first and most crucial skill to develop. 

My brain needed to become accustomed to the language's sounds before I could start speaking it fluently.I began by immersing myself in English content as much as possible. 

Every day, without fail, I spent hours listening to podcasts, videos and other materials related to language learning.It wasn't easy at first.Initially, I only understood about 10% of what I heard. 

But I persevered, and after nearly nine months of consistent listening practice, something remarkable happened: I began to understand English.

It felt like magic finally being able to comprehend the language for the first time.From that moment on, I never looked back.

My approach to learning English evolved as my comprehension improved.

I diversified my content consumption, changed the language settings on my phone to English, followed English-speaking people on social media and immersed myself in English-language TV shows and movies on Netflix.

Even now, four years later, I continue to use English in my daily life.

However, I soon realized that this wasn't enough for me.I wanted to do more, and that's exactly what I did...