The summer vibes. That feeling is greatly amazing. Knowing that you can just do things on your own time with friends and family, it is truly a time in the year where you feel free to explore anything. I took this opportunity to really travel and really get open with many other people. I can say this for sure I took the initiative in challenging myself to grow in this aspect of myself in my Church.

My Church is world wide, meaning that we have different Churches around the world. My lifestyle is actually really packed since I really devote my time into building the Church. Since I am from New York, I am in the New York City Church but there are other Churches that are part of mine in different states and countries. Boston, California, Australia, and the United Kingdom to name a few. I really dedicate time to learning new things, whether it is skills and knowledge that I can apply in my life, or the factor of how I can grow spiritually. Taking on challenges is crucial towards my life as I love consistent growth and doing new things every day in getting better. I want to try new things and this past summer, I was able to go to a world wide conference for my Church where all the Churches around the world would meet up in a designated location in which this year was London.

The trip started off really exciting as I traveled with 2 other brothers in my Church. We took a British airline when going to London and it all started with the flight attendants. I have heard a British accent sometimes here in New York but the factor where I started hearing it more often was so cool. They were so formal in the way they talk and their words when speaking were more unique. Here in New York, we use different slang words such as “brick outside” which means it is cold outside, but the British use their words more directly and you can really feel the weight in which they talk. “Cheers” in which I always think when you do something like a toast when drinking, they say it as a “Thank you”. This was so cool to hear as I was able to understand but at the same time, learning a new form of English language.

As I mentioned before, I have a world wide family of other brothers and sisters in the Churches around the world of different countries. Meeting so many of them was so cool. Not just the factor of getting to know them but in the way they talk as well. Brothers and sisters from the London Church have such a strong and thick accent that when I was talking to them, it sounded like a business interview. I could not help but always tell them that I love their accent. My New York accent and slang languages would naturally come out as I talk. Saying “glooks” as thank you, they would be confused about it and they would say “I beg your pardon?” as a way of confusion and I had to explain it to them. Instead of an annoyance, I found it absolutely stunning and fascinating that they were still speaking English but in a way it was a different form.

What I learned from this experience is that any language is to be spoken in any way, no matter the factor of where you come from. Getting open and bonding with people from different Background is what makes everything so impactful. Being different is what sets us apart and unique from each other. If we are all the same, we would not be learning anything from one another. How can we expand our language and vocabulary if we are constantly hearing the same thing over and over again and same accents. Sure I am from New York and the language used here is very unique, but the thing is, I also bring a uniqueness to other people around the world, and they do the same towards me. The human language is something to not be restricted as one thing but many parts as to what makes everyone unique.