It may seem weird for me to write in English. After all, I’m Argentinian, I live in a Spanish speaking country and I don’t even even have an international audience. But the reason I do so is super simple: I don’t really write for other people to read me (although that would be cool), I just write for me.

I have two main reasons to write in English instead of Spanish. The first one is fairly simple and will probably make sense to anyone who reads this: to practice. The second one is a bit more personal, and it’s that it allows me to detach from myself (weird, I know) and to overcome part of my shyness.

Reason Nº 1: To practice.

After leaving school I realized that, without classes, I wouldn’t have a space where to put my English skills into practice unless I created one. So, in order to at least maintain the level I had achieved and not become “rusty”, I would try to read, write, listen and/or speak English as often as I could.

Luckily, creating opportunities to practice those skills is fairly easy, even in a Spanish speaking country.

Reading.

Reading is not a problem. Most of the news outlets I read are from abroad. Also reading in English is very common in my field of work and study, since almost every article, documentation entry and contracts are written in English. And to top it off, I prefer reading my books in their original language. So, reading = ✅.

Listening.

Practicing my listening skills is also easy. My love for movies and series becomes helpful for once. Watching them without subtitles (or with subtitles in English) is the way I manage to keep my listening skills sharp. Also, as dumb as it may seem, YouTube (and social media in general) helps a lot. It doesn’t get much more real (and diverse) than regular people vlogging and speaking in front of a camera. Listening = ✅.

Speaking.

That leaves speaking and writing. Speaking  is the hardest to practice. After all, I can’t use it a lot in my day to day life. Apart from the occasional call I have at work (maybe twice or three times a month), I don’t have anyone I can speak with in English without it being weird. And it isn’t like I can practice speaking by myself… or can’t I? Yeah, I talk to myself in English. If I have to follow a train of though or if I’m rehearsing a reaction to a hypothetical situation, I make a conscious effort to always do it in English. Is it weird? Yes. A lot. But is the best way I could come up with. It is either that or risking sounding like this…

Just kidding. I love Tevez and applaud his efforts!

Writing.

So, that only leaves writing in the table. Yes, one could say that I put it into practice fairly often since at work I have to write to several service providers and clients on almost a daily basis. But it is a very technical kind of writing. It doesn’t really flex my writing muscle. So, I decided to start writing my daily notes in English, and, when I decided to start this website, I figured I would continue that habit.

Reason Nº 2: To overcome my introversion.

I think I have two different personalities that come out in different settings. One that I use at work, where I try to come on strong, confident and with “presence”; since I realized that being “passive” wasn’t going to get me very far and that having a strong personality is what I need to achieve the objectives I have.

I wish I could be like that all the time, but the truth is I have to make a constant effort to be like that at the office. In reality, I think of myself as more of an introvert. As opposed to my personality at work, where I don’t shy away form discussions or sharing my thoughts and opinions, outside of the office I try to avoid confrontation and keep my thoughts to myself.

I don’t know why, but if write or speak in English, I don’t feel as shy. It’s like it allows me to detach from myself and express my opinions more comfortably.

Conclusion

All in all, it’s just what works for me right now. I think this is what has helped me maintain my English level through out these years, and to also have an outlet to express my opinions outside my professional career (although I still have long ways to go in that department). Hopefully, in the future, I will write in English because I live in a country where that’s the spoken language. Fingers crossed for future-Nacho!