There are a few words that come to mind right now during such uncertain times grief, fear and resilience. grief [ greef ] noun Keen mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss; sharp sorrow; painful regret. Example sentence: “ I am grieving the loss of my friend.” “Sam was overwhelmed with grief when he lost his father.” fear [ feer ]noun A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. Example: “I am afraid of what the future holds.” “I am afraid of making an embarrassing mistake. resilience [ ri-zil-yuhns, -zil-ee-uhns] noun The ability of a person to adjust to or recover readily from illness, adversity, major life changes. Example: “ I admire the resilience of my friend who survived a car accident, even though she can’t walk she finished college and started her own business.” Inspirational quote "There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love." Washington

TIPS FOR LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE 1. CONVERSATION, CONVERSATION, CONVERSATION 2. INTENSITY OF STUDY TRUMPS LENGTH OF STUDY 15-20 minutes a day! 3. KNOW YOUR MOTIVATION (Write down why you are learning a new language and look at the reason why everyday). 4. SET LEARNING GOALS ( SMART GOALS: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound). 5. START WITH THE 1000 MOST COMMON WORDS (This is what I am doing while I learn Spanish) 6. ONE-ON-ONE TUTORING IS THE BEST AND MOST EFFICIENT USE OF TIME ( It’s easier to make embarrassing mistakes or ask questions talking with one person). 7. FINALLY, FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT FUN ( Associate words with funny stories or images you will remember them a lot easier).

If you are jumpy or startled easily when you do not 👂 hear someone walk in the room the expression “where did you come from!!” is common, or in my case I might say, “OMG you nearly gave me a heart ❤️ attack, I didn’t hear you walk in!” jumpy [ juhm-pee ] See synonyms for: jumpy / jumpiness on Thesaurus.com adjective, jump·i·er, jump·i·est. subject to sudden, involuntary starts, especially from nervousness, fear, excitement, etc. startled [ stahr-tld ] adjective disturbed or agitated suddenly, as by surprise or alarm. Check out dictionary.com for new vocabulary!

Focus & Mindfulness Sometimes it might feel impossible to study 📚 English after a long day at work. We can get so overwhelmed by what is happening in the world 🌎 we stop doing things that will help us improve ourselves. I encourage you to turn off the news 📰 for 10 minutes and practice your English or Spanish. If it seems impossible to concentrate consider finding an app or YouTube video to learn mindfulness that specifically helps with preparing to study 📚.

Friendlier Questions When you meet someone new in a professional or personal setting consider changing the questions you ask to make them feel more comfortable. For example, in some cultures asking “what do you do?” is actually considered rude because the focus is on what a person does and not who they are as a human being. Instead, ask the open ended question, How do you spend your time? When you ask this question it allows the person to share what they enjoy doing and if they work talk about their job. 🙂 Build a stronger sense of rapport by focusing on who someone is and not just on what they do.