Pronunciation ChallengeTop 5 Regrets of the Dying

“Life doesn’t owe us anything. We only owe ourselves, to make the most of the life we are living, of the time we have left, and to live in gratitude.” - Bronnie Ware

Hello VoiceTube world, it’s me, Hugh, your host for today’s Pronunciation Challenge! Today’s episode is once again about death. I’ve spoken about death a few times in the past before. There was the story about my friend who took his own life. Then, there was my friend who had a near-death experience. It’s an interesting topic because we’re all going to die eventually. What’s on the other side? That’s a question that humans have been asking since ancient times! However, instead of focusing on death itself in this episode, I want to talk about all the things that happen before death, namely – life! Sometimes people are so afraid of death that they forget to live! It’s either that or we’re too occupied (occupied means being busy with) with collecting material things like a nice car, nice house, and jewelry to name a few. We forget q'ethat the most important things in life are the small things, or moments that are the most precious. There’s a movie that really changed my outlook on life that I want to talk about but let’s get to the featured sentence first!

Today’s featured sentence:
So people were more likely to express ideal- related regrets such as failing to follow their dreams and live up to their full potential.

I’ll say that again.

So people were more likely to express ideal- related regrets such as failing to follow their dreams and live up to their full potential.

Ok, now time for the Pronunciation Tips.


For the first word, we have
Likely
Two syllables.
“LI” has a long i sound and “KELY” has a long E sound. If spelt out like how it should sound, it would be spelt “KLEE”. Likely.

Next up, we have
Express
Two syllables
Instead of saying the letter X, try saying the “I K” combination, “IK”. That’s your first syllable. “XPRESS” actually has a “SPR” combination sound in front with “ES” at the back. “EXPRESS”

Lastly, we have,
Potential
Three syllables.
“PO” has a short U sound. “TEN” sounds like the number ten. “TIAL” has a “SH” sound in front with “ULL” in the back to give you “SHULL”. Potential.


Moving onto Vocabulary!

The first word is:
1. express
Definition
to show a feeling, opinion, or fact
Used in a sentence you could say,
“I am not the type to express my emotions.”

Next word,
2. ideal
Definition
perfect, or the best possible
Used in a sentence, you could say:
“This van is the ideal size for bigger families.”

And lastly,
3. potential
Definition:
possible when the necessary conditions exist
Used in a sentence, you could say:
“This kid has the potential to be as great as long as he/she continues to work hard.”

Have any of you listeners watched the Pixar film, Soul? It’s about a jazz musician that dreams of being famous and appreciated by everyone. However, this musician is now older, without a steady job and still hanging onto this dream of his. In many ways, this movie is about me. Now, I’m not saying I’m a failure or anything. I think life throws us many curveballs (curveballs in this case means unexpected situations that pop up in your life) and we just adjust as we go. That’s how I ended up on Voicetube! Anyways, I hope you listeners watch this film. It’s definitely one of my favorites. Spoiler warning, I’m about to talk about the ending.
Ok, don’t say I didn’t warn you! I was inspired by this film when the main character realized that he let life pass him by because he was too busy chasing a dream. Having a dream is nice and all but also don’t forget to live life! Everything about my life was dedicated to acting! I sacrificed going to the wedding of some of my closest friends! I missed out on some precious moments in life because I was too busy keeping my schedule open for my acting jobs. Nowadays, I just take it one day at a time. I no longer make acting number one in my life and just go with the flow. It’s much less stressful now and I’m actually doing better in acting as well! I think it’s because I’m not as desperate as before so I feel more confident auditioning. I guess that’s the lesson I took. Don’t take life so seriously. Work hard but also be present in the moment and appreciate the people who treat you well and love you.
Alright, so after today, I’ll only be hosting the Pronunciation Challenge on Saturdays. I’m not going anywhere as long as VoiceTube will have me! Thanks for always practicing with me.I love you guys and until the next episode, see ya!

Day 288

Day 135.