Shibika's Year
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Nick
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Cheryl
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Shibika | Fred |
Shibika: Yeah, I had pretty nice year actually. I went through a lot of ups and downs, and yeah, at first I did really well in my classes and I got a scholarship so that was something that was really nice. It made my parents really proud of me, but then later I went back home for vacation and then unfortunately, I met through an accident, a car accident, and yeah, I had to be in bed for a month or something, so that was... initially I was like, a bit of thrown off but then that itself was a very good learning experience because it made me really strong and, yeah...
Fred: OK, so you're saying that even though you had a bad experience, it made you a stronger person.
Shibika: That's right. Yeah. It made me a really strong person and then it was like, I was not anymore more scared of accidents and I was not scared of any unfortunate mishappenings because they're a part of your life, you know, you can't really help them happening, they don't happen for reason, so you just got to accept them and move on.
Fred: Yeah, that's right but I'm guessing that you're gonna be so much more of a stronger person the following year and so you can accomplish...
Shibika: That's right. That's right.
Fred: Many more things.
Shibika: Yeah. At that time I felt as if like I had wasted a lot of time and I was not able to go for my classes or I could not... I was not able to enjoy my vacations but it was, it didn't turn out to be that bad because I sat at home, watched TV and I was being served and taken care of all the time so that was a good thing.
Fred: That's nice. You can say that that's the best thing that happened to you this year.
Shibika: Yeah. The best thing in disguise, you know, because initially I didn't see it as a good thing obviously but, yeah, it made me feel how much people who are close to me, how much they care for me and how much they love me, so it was a really good thing.
a lot of ups and downs
I went through a lot of ups and downs.
The phrase 'ups and downs' means positive and negative experiences. Notice the following:
- I experienced a lot of ups and downs while traveling.
- Everyone experiences ups and downs in life.
a very good learning experience
It was a very good learning experience.
We can learn something from both positive and negative experiences. Notice the following:
- My trip abroad was a very good learning experience.
- It was a difficult but very good learning experience.
unfortunate mishappenings
I was not scared of unfortunate mishappenings.
Something that is 'unfortunate' is negative , and actually, the correct form of the noun that follows is 'mishap'. A mishap is a small problem. Notice the following:
- It was an unfortunate mishap.
- The project experienced several unfortunate mishaps.
accept them and move on
You just got to accept them and move on.
When we experience problems that we can't change, we must continue as best we can. Notice the following:
- The results were poor, but we had to accept them and move on.
- I think we should just accept them and move on.
it didn't turn out to be that bad
It didn't turn out to be that bad because I watched TV.
We use the phrase 'It didn't turn out to be that bad' when negative results are not as serious as expected. Notice the following:
- She was worried about her TOIEC score, but it didn't turn out to be that bad.
- I was worried about meeting my girlfriend's parents, but It didn't turn out to be that bad.
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