"The Worst But Best Experience of My Life"

There have been many ups and downs in my life, like I'm sure most people have. Some may be able to pin point one particular moment to deem the best or worst experience of their life. Why can't life, in general, be the best part? I feel that I haven't experienced enough to be able to name any of my experiences the best or the worst, so I'll pick my most recent experience: applying for a teaching job.

Upon my arrival at SUNY Cortland, freshman year of college, I had my eyes wide open, ready to experience all that college had to offer. It wasn't then that I realized that I only had a few short years until I would be forced into what they call the "real world". Sadly, graduation day came sooner rather than later which made me more depressed than happy. I knew the field that I was going into was not as promising as I had been told years prior. Millions of questions flooded my head and clouded my dreams with thoughts of hopelessness. Will I ever find a job? What if I can't handle it? Am I going to live with my parents forever? These were the questions that haunted me day in and day out until, one day, I landed my first interview. Of course, hours upon hours of résumé building and endless applications consumed my life prior to this interview, but I won't bore you with those details. The day of my first interview was one of the worst and best days of my life. I remember my palms being sweaty like my square dancing partner's hands in phys. ed. class. I stuttered like I had never stuttered before, trying to fit in everything I could about how I would be the best candidate for the position. I don't even think I took a breath of fresh air for that grueling hour of torture.  Finally, the interview was over, and I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. But, it wasn't until I heard, "You're highly qualified for this position," did I release the tension from my shoulders and crack a smile out of joy rather than anxiety. I had earned my first "real" job!

To me, there is not one particular moment that can be called the best or worst moment of a lifetime. That is life. We wouldn't be able to compare of there wasn't a best or a worst. Life would be boring if it wasn't filled with its ups and downs. It's about how you take those moments and turn them into a positive learning experience to make your future filled with the best moments of your life. And for that, I am truly looking forward to.

Vocabulary:

experience:  an occurrence 

arrival: when someone has arrived

depressed: very sad

prior: before

hopelessness: no hope; desperate

haunt: to reappear continually; cause anxiety

stutter: interruption of speech

Vocabulary Practice: Complete the following crossword below using the clues from your vocabulary list.

1. occurrence

2. someone arrived

3. sad

4. before

5. no hope

6. reappear

7. speech interruption

Grammar point: In English, we sometimes use the ending -ed to let the reader know that an action occurred in the past.

Grammar activity: Past tense- Write 3 sentences about a happy or sad experience that you had recently. Make sure to use at least two examples of a past tense word with the ending -ed.