I don’t remember how many times I let Charmander die in my first video game (Pokemon Blue).
In the game they call it fainting.
I didn’t know the difference at the time.
It took me a while to figure out that Scratch dealt damage and Growl didn’t.
I stopped using Growl.
I didn’t want Charmander to die.
Years later I learnt that Pokemon didn’t die, they merely fainted.
That Scratch was not three diagonal lines but a mark made by a sharp object.
That Growl wasn’t some squiggly lines but a guttural sound made by animals.
By then I had immersed myself enough in English to understand what was going on.
English wasn’t my mother tongue.
It wasn’t spoken on the streets or in my family, save the occasional holiday.
At age 15 I was a frequent contributor to Crunchyroll.
When it was still a… uhm… not entirely legal anime streaming site.
Aside from the audio being in Japanese, everything was written in English.
Subtitles, menus on the website, people’s profiles.
Everyone communicated on the forum in English.
Looking at my old writings, I’m a bit surprised at how skilled I was for a non-native 15-year-old.
Remember: this was before YouTube, Facebook, Kindle and the plethora of free, digital English content had made its way across the pond.
Or existed in the first place.
In college there was one skill I still wasn’t comfortable with: speaking.
So I entered an international programme and decided: make as many international friends as possible in the first 3 months.
Interest drove me: I wanted to know about their culture and background.
But I won’t deny the added benefit of English speaking practice.
Since that decision, I’ve spent the majority of my life in English.
Reading books, watching shows, interacting with friends, romantic relationships, living abroad, working with people from around the world.
In many ways, it’s become the dominant language in my life.
Whether it’s Dutch or English, I feel comfortable in both.
Some technical language is easier in one over the other.
Regardless, I can express myself freely and live in either language without a problem.
You tell this to a 5-year old boy who didn’t understand why his Charmander was dying.
Pretty sure, he wouldn’t have known what to do.
He couldn’t speak the language.
Confidence isn’t gained in one day.
After one attempt.
It’s gained over time.
By repetition.
Stretching yourself a bit further every time.
The best thing?
It can be gained in any area of your life.
Which area?
The decision is entirely yours.