The Importance of Perseverance and Self-Belief

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Many people dream of becoming famous and successful people, achieving everything in life that one can only imagine. Someone aspires to earn millions of dollars; a person dreams of finding his soul mate and never parting with them. Some people are careerists by nature, which means that achievement in their chosen profession is important to them. My dream started small: I really wanted to learn English and speak it perfectly. It is impossible to achieve success in any business if one does not try and be determined. Even the most seemingly impossible goal can be achieved if the person striving for it does not stop, regardless of the obstacles that arise.

I was born in Cuba, but at the age of 13 I moved to Cape Coral, which is in Florida. Of course, I am fluent in Spanish, which is my mother tongue, but I faced a problem in the US: I needed to learn English to feel comfortable and free. I have a desire to become a full and successful citizen of the United States of America, which is impossible without an advanced knowledge of the language of this state. Despite my decision, however, this process was anything but quick and simple.

Learning a foreign language is difficult, even though I found myself in a foreign language environment where everyone around me spoke English. I had to learn hundreds of new words, constructions, phrasal sentences, and symbolic figures of speech. My companion for a time was a reference book on English grammar and tenses, which later enabled me to discern all the intricacies of English literary narrative.

It is difficult to read aloud, listening to my bad pronunciation, in which a foreign accent is guessed. Also, I often face criticism from others who express opinions about my successes and even criticize my achievements. However, I did not give up, driven by the desire to improve my professional skills and job prospects. In addition, I really want to increase my self-esteem by ceasing to be criticized by other people, whose comments often cause me shame and embarrassment.

However, all these difficulties and obstacles could not break my determination to achieve my goals and dreams. Despite the tiredness and tension, I do exercises, study grammar, and read books in English to expand my vocabulary and grammar techniques. I believe in myself, and my strengths show persistence and I strive to get closer to my goal. After a while, I started making fewer mistakes, and even if I did, I stopped feeling ashamed and embarrassed about it.

I realized that mistakes are an integral part of the difficult path to dreams and only those who do nothing do not make mistakes. I began to perceive the criticisms of others much more measured and calm, sometimes without paying attention to them at all. In the end, the effort and time I spent were worth it: English was no longer something bad and unknown to me, but became a friend and assistant.

This long and sometimes painful process of learning English has taught me many things that will definitely help me in the future. I realized that I must always believe in my strengths, and then I will be successful in any field. I realized that the main allies to fight against adversity and learn a new business are determination and perseverance. No matter how impossible the task seems, I can overcome it if I try to believe in my abilities.