Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue" story sparked a storm of emotions in my soul. I know how it feels to live in the country where you are not a native speaker. Yes, I have an accent, which in people`s opinions ranges from funny and sexy to terrible. Yes, I do not pronounce words perfectly, which at first made me want to hide from public speaking forever, despite me absolutely being in love with giving speeches back in Russia. I did not get a leading role in my boarding school play no matter how much people loved my acting skills because I still had an accent which American character couldn`t have. I have to repeat my name like ten times before people actually get it, but I do not want to adopt an easier American version because my name is part of my cultural heritage. I know sophisticated scientific words but sometimes I cannot name the simplest household things.
But why my "imperfect language" have to be a disadvantage when I can make it to be something that can make people remember me among other wolverines? I stopped being offended when people laugh at my pronunciation, instead, I laugh with them, which melts an ice wall of the communication barrier. Because it is actually funny and I can admit that. I am not afraid of public speaking anymore, because confidence, not perfection is the key to attention. I love improvisations, even though sometimes I have to use my body language, if I do not know words. And I actually got another role in the play which no one else could be good at because it was written in Esperanto language and my Russian roaring R sound made the words much more emotional and impressive. If people judge me by my accent or by my ethnic background connected to it...it is their choice and I can do nothing much with that. But I am not going to close myself from people just because I do not have perfect grammar or pronunciation. I am not going to close myself from writing because I cannot really put the articles in the right place, which my peer reviewers probably noticed. But I'm definitely getting better at it with practice though.
I wouldn't be the same without my imperfect language, because I would never got through all the difficulties of trying, making mistakes, being embarrassed, overcoming that feeling and trying one more time. I wouldn`t be here, in Michigan, if I have stopped. And I`m glad I haven`t.
But why my "imperfect language" have to be a disadvantage when I can make it to be something that can make people remember me among other wolverines? I stopped being offended when people laugh at my pronunciation, instead, I laugh with them, which melts an ice wall of the communication barrier. Because it is actually funny and I can admit that. I am not afraid of public speaking anymore, because confidence, not perfection is the key to attention. I love improvisations, even though sometimes I have to use my body language, if I do not know words. And I actually got another role in the play which no one else could be good at because it was written in Esperanto language and my Russian roaring R sound made the words much more emotional and impressive. If people judge me by my accent or by my ethnic background connected to it...it is their choice and I can do nothing much with that. But I am not going to close myself from people just because I do not have perfect grammar or pronunciation. I am not going to close myself from writing because I cannot really put the articles in the right place, which my peer reviewers probably noticed. But I'm definitely getting better at it with practice though.
I wouldn't be the same without my imperfect language, because I would never got through all the difficulties of trying, making mistakes, being embarrassed, overcoming that feeling and trying one more time. I wouldn`t be here, in Michigan, if I have stopped. And I`m glad I haven`t.
I never knew you liked drama - that's amazing! I really respect your public speaking skills, and am really grateful you chose Michigan. :)
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