As you may have noticed, I really like these personal essay types of posts, not too long ago I shared a post in which I talked about why I do not have one favourite book. I find it fun to explain and share my views on a particular topic, all, of course, in the book blog niche. Before this blog, I had another, there I wrote about everything I could think of which is why it kind of felt like a mess sometimes. Here, you, my reader, can expect to read about a topic related to books (reading) or writing (or both). Like my blog name suggests Pens & Pages. Because I now write within a particular niche, I feel that I can expand more on topics. Just as I did in my classics post. I feel like I can take the time to go into a topic because my readers (hopefully) have some knowledge of it and it interests them.
Today, I wanted to talk about my choice of reading and writing in English. For those that do not know, I am Dutch. The Dutch language is my mother-tongue and this is the language I am fully native in. In another post, I shared how I got into reading and when I started reading English, I will not repeat this here, but if you're interested feel free to check it out!
Since I was a little girl, I, unconsciously, made up a lot of stories. When I played with my dolls and Playmobil, I was always playing out their lives. This continued when I discovered The Sims, now on the computer I made-up characters and played with their lives. Also, in primary school, I really liked writing stories. I remember that once my teacher asked us to write a story about Easter, and I wrote 4 pages talking about the Easter bunny I believe. This is something I realised in my gap year but inspired me to follow my dream of becoming an author. Without realising it, stories and books have always been a part of my life, not always as obvious, but it was there.
After graduating secondary school I had not a clue what I wanted to do with my life, so I took a gap year, to take a break and figure things out. Even though that year flew by I did discover that I wanted to study English Language and Culture at Utrecht University. Not to become a teacher, but to get to know more about literature and the English language. So, why English?
During my first year of secondary school, it became clear that my English sucked. A lot. In the Netherlands we have grades between 1-10, 10 being the highest. For English I got 2's and 3's, that's how bad it was. Slowly I also realised that my teachers were not going to help me improve, I had too much of a difference between the rest of my peers. So I decided to teach myself, literally. I started reading in English and watching shows and films with English subtitles. I improved a lot and fast. I finished secondary school with my highest grade in English, higher than my own native language. I slowly found out that the English language contained so many more words, I find it more beautiful. I find Dutch a very harsh language, with harsh sounds like 'g', in English, you don't find these sounds, the Scottish word Loch, comes close to this Dutch sound.
Eventually, I found myself only reading English books and liking them more than Dutch books. Besides, often the books are read are from English authors and would be translated into Dutch and that just takes some of the 'magic' off in my opinion. (I don't want to hate on translators, but I like to read the original words from the author)
So, why do I now write and read in English, well, I just continued doing it. Slowly, English became easier for me to understand and it became a tool for me to improve. Since I study English literature I feel like it is more fitting for me to read English literature and I like it better. Besides, English is a world language, Dutch isn't and by improving and sharing my blog in English it is available for almost everyone. Shoutout to all my international readers! <3
English has become a part of who I am and I am grateful for taking the time those years ago to learn it. During my first year of university, I proved myself and others that I am capable of following a study in English, that I can write essays and get high grades. I completed all my classes and I found my passion.
Do I hate Dutch? I don't, but I do not read much in it anymore. Of course, I speak Dutch on a daily basis with my family, friends and boyfriend. I am grateful for having Dutch as my native language because it gave me a good foundation to learn English and other languages. I do not think that I am a native speaker of English, but I think I am proficient, with a higher level in English than most Dutch people. I am building my vocabulary every day because I still follow English courses and read and write in English a lot. I think that speaking is the hardest for me because, especially since Covid and online classes, I do it less often.
My dream is to become an author one day, and I am planning on writing in English. This will be a challenge, but on the other hand, I am not even considering writing in Dutch. By writing these posts, and following my studies, I hope that in a few years I can achieve this goal of mine. Besides, I am looking at the future and what I will do after completing my masters, travelling is high on my bucket list so that will give me the chance to become more proficient on another level. I will get there!
I hope that you enjoyed reading this post, I found it a lot of fun to write! Please let me know what your native language is! I will see you soon.
Keep reading,
Julia
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