– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

At 21,

people expect you to have your life

figured out.

Or at least pretend that you do.

You're supposed to be finishing degrees,

starting careers,

confidently following some kind of plan.

And over a year ago,

it looked like I had one.

I was teaching, I had a job, I had

structure.

To other people, it probably looked like

I knew exactly what I was doing.

But the problem was, it only looked that

way from the outside.

Deep down,

I knew something didn't feel right.

And it's not in a dramatic way.

I didn't wake up one morning and decide

to change my whole life.

It was more like a thought I couldn't

shake.

If I already feel stuck now,

what happens if I continue to stay here?

And that question scared me because I

already knew the answer.

So, I'm making a decision that looked

highly questionable to almost everyone

around me.

I left teaching.

I walked away from the front of the

class,

and I went back to school.

Now, I remember walking into class on my

very first day,

looking around at the classmates who

were years younger than me, and

thinking, "What?

How did my life end up here?"

Well, obviously because I enrolled at

SN, but you get what I mean.

For years,

I had been the one standing in front of

the classroom.

And then, there I was, sitting at a desk

again,

taking notes,

doing homework, and preparing for exams

most people my age had already finished.

And I will

Sorry.

And I would love to tell you that I felt

brave,

but most of the time,

I I felt uncertain.

Cuz when you start again,

the hardest part isn't always the work

itself.

Sometimes, the hardest part

is walking away from a life that you

spent years building.

Kitchen was stable. It was respectable.

And it gave me routine.

It even when it didn't feel right

anymore,

it still it still felt safer than

stepping into something unknown.

And I think this is where many of us get

stuck.

We are staying because

we're afraid.

We're staying because we're waiting for

fear to disappear.

And fear really leaves before we take

action.

Sometimes, you have to decide while

you're still afraid.

For a long time, I told myself I was

being practical.

But,

I was just scared.

I kept telling myself, "Stay a little

longer.

At least it's safe here.

Um it's not that bad."

And that's how we choose the unknown

angel that didn't know double over the

unknown angel.

We choose the life we already know

because we're afraid of what happens if

we step into the unknown.

Does the unknown

ask us to risk being misunderstood? It

asks us to start again. And it asks us

to admit that

what might what what used to work for us

might not work anymore.

So, let me ask you this.

What are you tolerating today

simply because you're afraid of what

happens if you let go of the familiar?

And for me,

that was the question I had to come

face-to-face with.

I wasn't staying because I was happy.

I was staying because leaving meant I

have to face the unknown.

And suddenly, the unknown makes us feel

like we need more time, more or proof,

more confidence, more signs.

But at some point, I realized something.

Certainty is not what changes your life.

Decision does.

Not a perfect decision, not a decision

with every step planned ahead.

Just one honest decision that says,

"This I feel familiar, but this is no

longer where I want to be now."

I used to think starting over meant I

had fallen behind, but one story changed

the way I saw that.

2 years ago, I read about a woman named

Doreen Bigelow.

She started ballet at 61 years 61 years

old.

Not as a child, not as a teenager, at

61.

When I first read about her, I thought

it was inspiring.

But I also thought I had nothing to do

with me at the time.

But now, I think I understand why her

story stayed with me for so long.

See, it was It wasn't really about

ballet.

It was about giving yourself the

permission

to rewrite the timeline.

Cuz a timeline is not a rule.

It's just an idea that we were given.

An idea that says there's a right age to

study, to succeed,

to know who you are,

and the right age to begin.

But we all know that real life rarely

works that way.

Some people start early,

some start late,

some start over,

and some people spend years on a path

before they realize they want something

different.

But that doesn't mean

they were wrong for.

That doesn't mean they failed.

It means they changed.

And changing your path isn't always a

sign that

um you were

wrong before.

It's a sign

that says you're finally being honest

now.

So today, I'm not exactly where people

expected me to be at 21.

I'm sitting for exams that most people

took years ago, and baby tiny steps

embarrass me a little, but

I don't think I'm behind anymore

because I feel like I'm finally moving.

Rewriting your timeline isn't about

proving people wrong.

It's not about catching up to everyone

else, and it's not about making your

life look impressive from the outside.

It's actually about recognizing when

you're when

the path you're on

no longer reflects the person you're

becoming.

So if there's something in your life

that you're outgrowing, I'm not here to

tell you to destroy everything and start

over tomorrow.

I would be reckless.

And honestly, I don't think every

uncomfortable feeling needs a dramatic

answer.

But I do think you should be attaching

to that feeling.

So maybe

you don't need certainty before you

begin.

Maybe you just need one decision.

The decision to give yourself

permission,

the decision to try again,

and the decision to choose the unknown

angel

even if the known devil feels safer.

Thank you.

>> [applause]

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
figured /ˈfɪɡərd/ B1	verb - to understand or solve a problem
confidently /ˈkɒnfɪdəntli/ B2	adjective - with self-assurance
structure /ˈstrʌktʃər/ B1	noun - the arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something
dramatic /drəˈmætɪk/ B2	adjective - relating to a sudden or striking event
questionable /ˈkwestʃənəbəl/ C1	adjective - doubtful as regards truth or quality
enrolled /ɪnˈroʊld/ B2	verb - officially register as a member of an institution
uncertain /ʌnˈsɜːrtən/ B1	adjective - not able to be relied on; not known or definite
respectable /rɪˈspektəbəl/ B2	adjective - regarded by society to be good, proper, or correct
routine /ruːˈtiːn/ A2	noun - a sequence of actions regularly followed
practical /ˈpræktɪkəl/ B1	adjective - concerned with the actual doing or use of something
tolerating /ˈtɒləreɪtɪŋ/ B2	verb - to allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of something
certainty /ˈsɜːrtənti/ B2	noun - firm conviction that something is the case
inspiring /ɪnˈspaɪərɪŋ/ B2	adjective - having the effect of inspiring someone
permission /pərˈmɪʃən/ A2	noun - consent; authorization
reckless /ˈrekləs/ C1	adjective - heedless of danger or the consequences of one's actions

Key Grammar Structures

• You're supposed to be finishing degrees, starting careers, confidently following some kind of plan.

  ➔ Be supposed to + continuous infinitive

  ➔ Used to express an expectation or obligation. Using "be finishing" implies an ongoing process.

• If I already feel stuck now, what happens if I continue to stay here?

  ➔ First Conditional

  ➔ Used for real or possible situations. If (present simple) + result (present simple/future).

• For years, I had been the one standing in front of the classroom.

  ➔ Past Perfect Continuous

  ➔ Used to describe an action that was ongoing up to a certain point in the past.

• And I would love to tell you that I felt brave, but most of the time, I felt uncertain.

  ➔ Conditional 'Would' for desire

  ➔ "I would love to" is a polite or hypothetical way of expressing a wish to do something.

• It even when it didn't feel right anymore, it still felt safer than stepping into something unknown.

  ➔ Gerund as subject/object of comparison

  ➔ The gerund "stepping" functions as a noun phrase in the comparative structure.

• I wasn't staying because I was happy. I was staying because leaving meant I have to face the unknown.

  ➔ Cleft sentence structure (reasoning)

  ➔ Using 'I was staying because...' highlights the specific cause of the action, contrasting it with a potential misinterpretation.

• The decision to give yourself permission, the decision to try again, and the decision to choose the unknown.

  ➔ Noun phrases with infinitive complements

  ➔ "The decision" is modified by "to [verb]", which clarifies the nature of the decision.

• I don't think I'm behind anymore because I feel like I'm finally moving.

  ➔ Phrasal verb / Verb + preposition

  ➔ "Behind" acts here as an adjective representing progress. "Feel like" is a common expression for subjective perception.