Lesson 1 For a Satisfying Life
Life Is a Journey to Be Experienced
Hi, everyone. My name is Minji Song, and I ____ the editor of an online teen magazine, Teens Today.
I am honored to have been asked to give a ____
Many of our high school student subscribers send me messages with ____ about their future.
So today, I will talk ____ the value of experiences in making a better future.
For this talk, I asked my old friends ____ write down stories about what they experienced when they were younger.
I would like to start by reading ____ one by one.
I was fond of ____
____ summer day, I was watching an Olympic swimming event on TV.
The gold medalist looked fantastic, and I ____ to be just like him.
I ____ my parents if I could learn to swim.
They ____ and said, “Yes.”
Swimming ____ difficult at first, but after a year, I became a good swimmer.
I ____ tired but happy when I was out of breath after every practice.
As I practiced more, my times ____ better and better.
One ____ my coach suggested that I enter a competition.
He also advised me ____ for good results I should build muscle strength through weight training.
The training was demanding, leaving me exhausted at ____
Whenever I felt ____ way, I told myself, “No pain, no gain.”
I performed in a play
I ____ to be quiet and shy when I was a child.
My homeroom teacher told me one day that she was putting ____ a play for our school festival.
She suggested that I take on a small role, saying that ____ in a play would be a good experience.
So, ____ decided to do it.
I was ____ nervous at the first rehearsal that I could not say my lines at all.
However, as I practiced ____ lines more, I became more and more confident.
On the day of the performance, I got anxious ____ my mind went blank just before I stepped on the stage.
My classmates tapped ____ on the shoulder and encouraged me.
Thanks to this, I was able ____ perform my lines perfectly.
I wanted to be a landscape ____
One day, I saw a poster advertising ____ city’s landscape design contest.
The instant I saw it, I ____ interested.
After doing some research on ____ Internet, I discovered that landscape designing involves arranging and decorating outdoor spaces.
I thought a landscape architect’s work was impressive because the arrangement ____ plants and structures can transform a space.
This inspired ____ to think about becoming a landscape architect.
I ____ out that I had to be good at math and science in order to become a landscape architect.
This is because landscape architects must calculate the dimensions and slopes of land as well as thoroughly examine ____ factors such as soil, air, and climate.
I was not good at either subject at the time, so I decided to ____ more effort into studying them.
I was passionate about writing
When I was fourteen, I ____ hospitalized for several weeks.
One day, I saw a piece of paper ____ the table.
I was bored, so ____ picked it up and began writing things down to pass the time.
I felt a sense of ____ when I wrote what I wanted to do after leaving the hospital.
____ evening, I asked my mother to buy me a notebook.
As I filled page after page, I realized that writing was more than just a way to ____ time.
As the years passed, ____ passion for writing grew stronger.
So I ____ writing short stories and sharing them with my friends and family.
I felt a sense of accomplishment whenever they told me my ____ were good.
Can ____ guess what my friends do now?
Are they a swimmer? An actor? A landscape architect? ____ novelist?
Actually, all four of these people are ____
I ____ work as a magazine editor.
____ you can see, my preferences have changed over the years as I was exposed to new experiences.
Every time my interest changed, I was worried about what I was going to become in ____ future.
Do you also have similar concerns?
Changes in your interests and ____ are completely natural.
Try to accept this process and keep an ____ mind.
Exploring new things can sometimes lead to valuable experiences ____ will help shape your future.
I myself tried ____ different things before I finally became an editor because I enjoyed writing.
Thanks to these many interests, ____ can write articles about math and science, speak confidently in front of an audience, and relieve my stress by swimming.
Allowing yourself ____ opportunity to experience a variety of things is not a waste of time.
Your school days are a time of ____ and personal growth.
As you spend each day wisely, you will be able to figure out what kind of person you are ____ what you enjoy doing.
Do not ____ to define yourself in just one way as you undergo this process.
Be flexible. Remember that ____ potential is limitless.
____ you for your time.