중학교 영어 3 (동아출판 윤정미) 연계 글

At the start of ninth grade, I had no idea what I enjoyed most. My friends seemed to have clear goals, but I had only questions. So I made a plan to try three new activities before the year ended.

In March, I joined the sign language club at my school. Our leader, Chaebin, taught us signs for greetings and numbers. At first, I wondered whether my stiff fingers could ever move as quickly as Chaebin's. After two months, I could introduce myself in sign language, but my hands still felt slower than my thoughts.

In the summer, I joined the school broadcasting club. Each morning, our team had only fifteen minutes to prepare the news. I enjoyed writing the scripts, but the microphone made my voice shake. One day, our teacher asked whether I wanted to read the news myself. I did not have the courage to say yes, so a classmate read my script.

In the fall, I began volunteering at our neighborhood library. Every Saturday, I read picture books aloud to young children and watched their faces to see whether they understood. One Saturday, a boy named Milo could not sit still. To keep his attention, I gave each animal a different voice. Soon he was laughing and begging me to read the book again. That afternoon, I completely forgot to check the time.

Looking back, I can see what the three activities had in common. In each one, I was sharing words or stories with others. However, I felt happiest when I could see my listeners enjoying a story. I cannot say yet whether this will become my job someday. For now, I have found a reason to get up early on Saturdays. Next year, I hope to tell stories with my hands as well as my voice.