[0:00]Let me tell you how English changed my life.
[0:15]Growing up without money in my family, but still being able to travel from Mexico to Thailand, to Portugal, Brazil, and beyond. All by myself. I wasn't traveling in luxury. Sometimes I didn't know where I was going to stay next month. I only knew that I could teach a couple English lessons and keep going. So, someone asked me in the comments, what do you think you would be if you weren't an English teacher? So today, I'm going to answer that question while telling you the story of how English took me around the world. If this speed is too slow for you, then just speed up the video. Give yourself a little challenge. First, let's get into how I became a teacher. My mom and my dad are both English teachers, and when my sister turned 18 years old, she became an English teacher as well. She taught lessons online to students in China. She worked with a company called VIP Kid, and she could do it with just her TEFL certificate and high school. High school from anywhere in the world. She made a good salary, good money, and she was able to pay for her food and rent in college with that job. Imagine working and studying and affording it all just by teaching. "My sister walked, so I could run." That's an expression in English. My sister walked so that I could run. It basically means my sister set the path for me to follow. And that's what I did. I got my TEFL certificate when I was 17 years old. So, the second I turned 18, I knew I wanted to start teaching online as well. Just like my sister did. I started saving money right away as much as I could. And I was able to move out into my own apartment when I was 18. I moved to Puebla. It's a bigger city outside of the town I grew up in. I lived there working for about a year. But I soon realized I felt stuck. I was getting stuck in a routine that I didn't like. I had always dreamed of traveling since I was little. And that whole year, I was just waiting for someone to travel with. Whether that was my sister or my friends. But nobody really wanted to as much as I did. Granted, they were studying in college, but still, nobody wanted to travel with me. At this point, I had my laptop, wifi, and my English classes. I thought that's all I need. So, I decided to take my first solo trip to Tulum, Mexico. And that's when I realized this is exactly what I've been looking for. Connecting, meeting, learning. I came back home feeling more myself than I ever had. That's when I decided to book my next trip to Costa Rica. I volunteered at a hostel in Costa Rica. It was so much fun. Making friends and seeing beautiful new sites. That when I returned back to Mexico, I knew I was certain I wanted to travel again. And I had always always dreamed of visiting Thailand one day. Always. A life-long dream. So, one day, after saving every penny I had, eating rice, beans, and chickpeas for lunch every day, I finally had enough money to buy my ticket to Thailand.
[8:00]I figured I only need enough for my ticket there.
[8:08]Because I can work online and get money for my food and my hostels I had to stay at.
[8:22]So, I said goodbye to my family and I boarded my flight to Thailand. The only problem about teaching in Thailand was the time difference.
[8:50]If I was teaching at 2:00 p.m. in Mexico, that would be 3:00 a.m. in Thailand. It was brutal. Being nocturnal during that time, staying up until 5:00 a.m. teaching.
[9:26]It got to me. Some nights, I would cry from exhaustion. I would be so tired. But, at the end of the day, my exhaustion didn't matter. I had my freedom and the most amazing experiences traveling alone. I learned a lot about myself just by being by myself, completely alone. In Thailand, I accomplished lots of my life-long dreams. I got my scuba diving certificate. I saw the Similan Islands. A true paradise. I lived in pretty sketchy areas, and I ate lots of local food. But, I managed to continue saving all of the money I got from my English classes and continue scuba diving and continue traveling. I traveled through Cambodia and Vietnam, two places that are even cheaper than Thailand. But somehow, I think from being in such humid countries for so long, being so close to the beach, scuba diving on boats, somehow my computer broke. Now, this was a crucial moment because I didn't have enough money to buy a new one. I only had enough money saved to buy a ticket back home. But it was either spend those savings on a new computer to continue traveling, or use those savings to buy my ticket home.
[12:31]And I chose the most responsible option, I think. So, I went back home. And I worked on my iPad until I saved up enough to buy a new computer.
[12:57]Then, I saved up some more, and I traveled to the UK. Cornwall. I saw this boy that I was dating. I met his family, and he showed me all of the beautiful places in Cornwall. But I got antsy. Antsy is when you can't stay still. So I got antsy. I had to move again. I had to travel somewhere new. So I booked a ticket to Portugal. That's where I met the best people while working at a hostel. I worked at reception 20 hours a week. And in exchange, they gave me a free place to sleep and free food. A really good deal in my opinion. And I also taught English online two or three hours a day to make money and save for my next trip. I had so many fun moments in Portugal. Biking, going to beaches, exploring the city. I adored Portugal. I adored the hostel I worked at. Hostels are a safe space where travelers can connect with each other. I volunteered through Worldpackers. Volunteering saved me thousands of dollars. And English was the reason that I could do it, to communicate, to connect, and to help. It was a requirement to know English to volunteer at most hostels. Finally, it was time to go home. I booked my ticket to Mexico, and right away I had another volunteering job scheduled at a turtle sanctuary. My dream place to volunteer at. I had the most wonderful experience. And I met some of the most thought-provoking friends. I loved watching over the turtle nests and making sure the baby turtles made it into the ocean. It was a magical experience that I also found on Worldpackers. Now, after the turtle sanctuary, I was ready to travel again. So my boyfriend at the time invited me to travel to New Zealand with him to live in a van. I bought my ticket. I bought everything I needed for the winter in New Zealand. And I said goodbye to my family. But he called me a few days before leaving and told me he cheated on me.
[17:54]I was destroyed, obviously. But, blessings always come out of misfortunes. At least for me, they always do. And I was feeling so sad, so lost one day. That I decided to expand my reach and get new students. So I could save more money and travel by myself again. So I set up my camera and I read a very simple script in slow English. I started the video with hello and welcome back to my slow English podcast. I posted it, and I went to sleep. I woke up to millions of views. All of them saying that I sounded like Maestra Miel, Miss Honey. And they were all saying that they wanted more. And the rest is history. I am so incredibly proud of the community I built. I am so proud of you guys for sticking to your goals and never letting frustration get the best of you. Never letting disappointment get the best of your dreams. I'm not telling you this story to say, oh, look at what I did. And English didn't give me a perfect life. It gave me choices. Maybe your dream isn't to travel. Maybe it's stability, confidence, a better job. English won't magically fix everything, but it can open doors for moments in your life when things get a little bit scary. When money is tight. Sorry, it was getting too hot in the sun. And to answer your question on what I would be if I wasn't an English teacher? Probably a scuba dive instructor. That used to be my dream job. Or owning a hostel, because I love hostels. I love the way people connect, share stories, and let go of any prejudices they might have about other people. Or I might have been some other kind of teacher. I love teaching. It's definitely my passion, passed on to me by my mom and my dad, the two best teachers I know.
