I don’t belong to a book club. Never have. But I have been using Grammarly for 9 years. There’s a voyage of learning English. In Finland, we start to learn English in the 3rd or 4th grade. It depends on which school you go to or which year. It was in 1987 or 1988 when I learned English for the first time. I was at least 10 years old, so it’s a long time. I even got a diploma for my improved English. I’ve learned a lot since then.
In Finland, we have English-language subtitles for movies and TV shows, so we learn from them. English has almost become my 3rd language, besides Finnish and Swedish. I listen to English music and read English books. I don’t belong to a book club, but I do belong to a Grammarly club.
I’ve used the Pro version, but I had to cancel it for a while. But now I have it again. The Pro version gives so much more. It checks the spelling and grammar. It’s a good way to learn English. Grammarly is not only useful when writing this blog, but it also works on mobile (Android, iPhone, iPad), Windows, and Firefox. It’s really useful, and it has helped me a lot.
I didn’t realise I’d already been using Grammarly for 9 years. I could almost put it in my resume 🙂 I know more about English than I did 10 years ago. If I hadn’t learned English, this blog would not exist. Not other writing in English, for that matter. I only wish I could learn other languages as easily as this. Those lessons don’t stick in my head as well as English does. And I thought I was good at learning languages, but I guess it’s only English. So far, I’ve managed fine. My dad didn’t speak any language other than Finnish, so my mother and I were guides when we were abroad.
I won’t collapse, even though yesterday’s post didn’t get likes immediately. There can be many reasons, which doesn’t necessarily mean it was terrible. I’m good at keeping it together. There are worse things in the world than no one liking something. Despite being active on social media, I don’t get many likes and even less comments. But I post anyway. Sometimes, people find old posts that were posted ages ago. You never know what happens when you’re on the internet. One thing that I’m good at is keeping things together, and I don’t collapse when things get tough. Life’s disappointments make you stronger, and you can take the heat a little better.
The other four things I’m good at are as follows. Two of them are thanks to my late parents.
Cooking and baking
I used to help my mother in the kitchen. That way, I learned how to cook and bake. It had been a big help. My dad didn’t cook, so I cooked for the both of us after my mother died. Sometimes, I try new recipes, and sometimes I succeed, but sometimes I do not. For example, I once tried to make chocolate cheesecake, but it became all gooey and too sweet. I followed the recipe to the letter, but still, it failed. I have more success in cooking a meal. If I like the food I tried for the first time, I cook them again. Now, when I’m alone, I’m a little lazy to cook, so I either order takeout or buy microwave food. But a home-cooked meal is always better, so I still do that. It’s less expensive to cook your own food. I should learn to make smaller amounts of food, though, now that I only cook for myself.
Driving a car
Everybody probably says they’re a good driver, but I can genuinely say that. I follow the rules and consider other people. I only got my driver’s licence three years ago, but I’ve improved since then. I gained more confidence driving because Dad was with me. You get better the more you drive. The longest trip I’ve driven was to Helsinki last week. I even drove in total darkness on the back home. I couldn’t have done it a few years ago. But because of my dad, I’m more confident behind the wheel.
Writing stories
The first time I wrote stories was in elementary school as school assignments, and I got good grades. As a teenager, I started to write in English, and it hasn’t stopped. I have a vivid imagination. Today, I write fan fiction, primarily real-person fiction. It is good practice to learn writing in English, and I have learned a lot of new words. In Finland, we start to learn English in 3rd or 4th grade. That’s how it was in the 1980s, at least. Writing is a lot of fun, and that’s why it’s my favourite thing of all the things I’m good at.
Using a computer
I might know how to fix a computer, but I’m good at using one. The first computer I used was a Macintosh. I was in 7th grade when we got a computer in the classroom. Computers weren’t common then, and you had to know codes. There were no icons to click on, so it wasn’t easy to use one. I used Windows the most because that’s what our school had. It was only the Macintosh that had icons. The first time I used the Internet was in 1997 when I was in business school. As they say, the rest is history. Kids today have no idea how it was then. It’s good that computers have gotten better over the decades. It is more fun to use computers and the Internet these days. But that’s good because things were so slow before broadband and computer icons. That modem sound still haunts in my head. If you lived in the 1990s, you know what I mean.
I wish I could improve on some other things, but that’s another list.
A person who doesn’t have English as their first language there are words you always write wrong. Or when you speak certain words you can’t get them rightly pronounced. For me, the most difficult word to say is failure and photographer. It’s such a tease for me so I rather not say them out loud because they sound stupid when they come out of my mouth. It’s easier to write them. I know I shouldn’t mind how it sounds like. The main thing is to be understood. I’m not ashamed of having an accent. I don’t even know if I do because I haven’t listened to myself on tape. Finns usually are embarrassed about having an accent. I don’t why because other non-English speakers do have an accent too. I don’t think people even notice if I have an accent or not. People don’t pay attention to accents because you can’t sound totally native if you really aren’t. Other problem in what English to speak, American English or British. When I was younger I thought American sounded much cooler but now I find them both fascinating. I write this blog in British English so if you find a word that looks like it’s misspelt, it’s not. It’s only written differently.
I write fiction in English and sometimes I find it difficult to describe something. It’s not just English but in my own language as well. Not only fiction but also when I write about anything. You can’t really say when you try to describe someone or something as a thingamajig. Describing is the most difficult thing in the English language. It’s stressful so when I don’t know a certain word I use another one instead. Or don’t write it at all. Being bilingual has its disadvantages. You don’t always remember what word is what in the language you’re using. I usually search Google for the word or Google translater when I write. I also have a dictionary but it’s faster to use the Internet. I’ve used English so much so I sometimes don’t remember what something is in my language. I both speak Finnish and Swedish so even in those languages I can find difficulties. I always spoke in Finnish Swedish with my mother and I went to a Swedish speaking kindergarten and school so I’ve grown up with the language. My dad doesn’t speak any other language than Finnish.
There are words in English that I always misspell no matter how many times I’ve written them. Words like unfortunately, fortunately, relieved. It usually becomes unfortunally, releaved. Some words sound similar. Like relieved and revealed. They are easily misspelt. I love the English language because words look the same but can still mean different things. It’s a bit like Finnish. Probably not as they are written though. It also has words that mean different things. I’m always been bad at grammar so I can’t teach languages so don’t suggest I could teach Finnish to you. Then there are words in English that are said the same way but mean different things. Like idle and idol. Example: “He’s been an idol for 20 years but he’s been idle for 20 years” I saw that sentence somewhere once but I don’t remember where I saw it. The English language also has very funny puns and wordplays. Somehow it’s easier to use the language in metaphors than it is in Finnish, for example. Certain things even sound better in English. Sometimes learning a language has difficulties but that’s how you learn. I know more words in English than I did about 20 years ago. I wish I could learn another language like that but I just so much else to do and it doesn’t stick in my brain like English does. I thought I was good at learning languages but I guess I wasn’t after all. I’m really amazed if someone can speak more than 5 different languages. I can hardly manage 3 but that’s more than most can.
In my world 