Tag: learning

Success? What is that?

MiaLeave a comment
Made in Canva by me.

When someone says the word “success,” it reminds me that I have not had much of it. I don’t remember them. I don’t really know what that means.

I only remember negative things. I haven’t had success with friends, my career, or the things people usually do. But I don’t need to. I want to be different. For me, success is in small things. Such as.

I learned a lot, and I’ve experienced things that some people haven’t. And I mean good things. For example, I know how they make movies. I’ve studied screenplay writing, and we filmed a movie scene from the scripts we wrote. There was no time for mine, but it was fun to film.

I succeeded in not falling into bad habits like drinking alcohol, smoking, and doing drugs. I haven’t seen a point in it.

I succeeded in learning English. I know more English than I did when I first learned it. I was in 3rd or 4th grade. It was then that we began to learn English in Finland.

I succeeded in traveling with my parents. So far, I’ve been in at least 13 or 14 countries. All in Europe. Now that they have passed away, I go alone. But traveling is expensive, so I’ve only been on cruises to Stockholm. After my dad passed away two years ago, I went to Stockholm overnight. It was the first time I’d traveled abroad alone. The last time I went was on my birthday, June 2. Some people never go anywhere, like my next-door neighbors. Poor kids who never see the world. Not even the city they live in.

I succeeded in finding an occupation that I was looking for. It took years, and when I finally did, I didn’t get a job. No clients to start a business. And no money is coming in.

I succeeded in going to live concerts. When I was younger, I never went to concerts. I didn’t want to go into crowds. But then in 2017, I went to see Robbie Williams. And after that, I got the bug to go to concerts. My dream is to go abroad to see a concert, but I don’t have the money. Duran Duran is in Stockholm in the Autumn, but that will remain a dream.

Small successes like that. But success that other people might think is. A good job, a family, or fame and fortune. If you have no respect for others, including those who are different. Think you’re above others because you have it better than they do; success doesn’t matter.

Even if you don’t have big successes, small ones should be enough.

A voyage of 9 years on Grammarly

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Nine years in Grammarly
Happy Grammarversary!

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.

The voyage to another level of English continues.

Not much new on the horizon

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a view
Photo: Mia
Daily writing prompt
What skills or lessons have you learned recently?

Recently, I haven’t learned new things. Only repeat old skills and lessons. So not much new on the horizon. Oh, except that there is no Pullquote block on WordPress anymore, so the quote gives me nightmares. The font is too big, and you can’t change the size. It just looks terrible on the post.

Now, when I think about what I’ve learned recently. I’ve learned that no matter what I do, I can’t seem to find graphic design clients. My savings are soon gone, and no money is coming in (except welfare). If I sold my flat, I could get money. But I can’t afford to hire a cleaner or moving people. Being unemployed blows. I only get bills, bills, bills.

Another thing I’ve learned, but it isn’t recent. It doesn’t matter what I post on Facebook, not even my relatives, no one reacts. But I post anyway just for myself. It’s nice to look back at the memories. People’s lives are so busy that they have no time to care about what I do. If I weren’t used to being alone, I would probably be depressed and distressed. Luckily, that’s only Facebook, and who takes that seriously?

There are always new things to learn. For example, you’re never ready to be creative because you can always get better and realise something you haven’t before. I’ve used Canva for 10 years, but I’m still learning. It gets updates, and new things come up. Then you learn the latest tools. The same goes for any app you use.

Learning new things is fun, and it makes life worth living. Especially if it’s something you love doing. It’s good for the brain to stay active.