Simple Stories in English: What Do I Do?

Season 2, episode 5

I am a rather busy person. Many of my activities are related to daily necessities or work, but I also get out and explore. Continuing with this season of personal stories, this episode explores the question: “what do I do?”

This story is in the first person and the present tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: create, make, imagine, explore, photos, and exercise.

What Do I Do?

What do I do? I do a lot. I have a lot of activities in my life. I do normal activities. For example, I sleep at night. During the day, I prepare and eat food. I clean the house and wash dishes. I spend time with my sons and with friends. Some of my activities are very common for everyone, but others are more specific to me.

I talk. I talk a lot. I am very social and I talk with everyone. I talk to my kids. I talk to my sisters. I talk to my mom. I talk to my friends. I talk to people in the store. I talk to others in person and on the phone. When I can’t talk, I communicate through text messages or emails. But I prefer to talk out loud.

I create. I am creative and I create a lot of things. I create art with my sons through drawing and painting. I am not an artist, but I draw very basic objects. I create other creative things with my sons too. I build houses and cars with Lego. I build big, intricate houses. I build small cars and big trucks. My sons and I play with the things we build. It is easy to be creative with Lego.

I like to make things. I like to create. I make scarves and hats with my knitting needles. I am an active person and I am happiest when I am creating things with my hands. I knit while I am in meetings. I knit while I watch TV. I knit while listening to an audiobook. Then, I give my creations to family and friends. They are excellent presents for Christmas.

I create stories. First, I imagine my story. I think a lot about the story. I imagine the different elements, where it occurs, who is in it, what the problem is. I imagine all the drama. It is like a movie in my head. Then I write. I write my stories. I have a small book and I write my ideas in the book. Then I refine my stories. If it is a good story, I tell the story to one of my classes or on my podcast. If it is a good story, I edit the story and write a whole novel, then I publish it.

In addition to creating stories, I read a lot of stories. I like to read. I mainly read fiction. I like mysteries and fantasy, but my favorite genre of literature is historical fiction. I don’t read romance or science fiction. I read at home and in school. I’m part of a book club with my students at school. Generally I read books, but I also read news and teaching articles.

I explore. I spend a lot of time in the mountains. I explore the mountains in the car with my family. I go to rivers and lakes. I play in the river and lake water with my kids. I explore hiking trails with my friends. I have a group of adventurous friends. I explore canyons with them. I explore mountain peaks with them. I don’t run or ride a bike when I explore, I just walk. I walk and think about the beautiful nature around me. In the winter, it is harder to explore the mountains. So I ski to explore the mountains. I do nordic skiing and downhill skiing. I also explore other places in the winter. For example, I explore the desert because it isn’t so hot.

I camp with my family and friends when I explore nature. I like to camp. When I camp, I sleep in a sleeping bag in a tent. I see the bright stars in the sky. I watch animals. I think about the beautiful world.

I take photos of all the things I observe in nature. I take photos of mountains. I take photos of animals. I take photos of lakes. I take photos of waterfalls. I take photos of flowers and plants. I also take photos of my family. I take a lot of photos of my kids. Sometimes I take photos with my camera, but I take most photos on my phone.

I exercise. I don’t like exercise much, but I understand that it is important. To exercise I walk and lift weights. Sometimes I run, but I typically walk. I like to walk and talk with friends. If I’m walking alone, I listen to a podcast or an audiobook. When I walk in the house on a treadmill, I watch TV. In addition to walking, I do yoga. I do yoga to center myself. When I do yoga I relax and am happy. Two to three times a week, I lift weights for exercise. It is very important for women to lift weights. I don’t have big muscles, but I feel strong.

I listen to music. I listen to music when I exercise and when I clean the house. I listen to music when I play with my sons. I listen to music when I work in school. I like music. I dance to music. I usually dance alone, but sometimes my sons dance with me. In addition to listening to music, I can make music. I make music by singing. I sing with the music. I sing with music in the car and I sing in the shower when I wash my hair. I also make music by playing the piano. I don’t play the piano very well, I need to practice.

Not all of the activities in my life are fun. The majority of my life is work. I work a lot. I’m a teacher. I work in a high school and a community college. I teach Spanish in my classes. I teach vocabulary and culture. I teach with stories and conversations. I plan fun activities for my students. Sometimes I prepare special foods for my students. I write tests for my students. I read and grade my students’ work.

In addition to being a teacher, I am also a translator. I translate documents from English to Spanish for Hispanic parents in my community. In my translating work, I spend a lot of time on the computer. I type documents for my students and the community.

My life is very busy with all my activities. I am very active, but sometimes I don’t want to be active. Sometimes I don’t want to do anything. It is a secret, but sometimes I just watch TV and eat ice cream – for my mental health.

I do a lot in my life. I do several activities every day. What are your activities? What do you do?

The End.

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