Name: The Power of Opportunity
Uploaded: 2020-11-02T18:45:21.000Z
Duration: 7 min 33 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Past simple

Modal verbs - A2

And for the first time ever, I want to share it with you because I think it can help someone.

It's the story of how I went from being a village kid toe getting into Harvard University in the US And trust me, this is not a normal story.

See, I grew up in the Middle East as a Palestinian Israeli, and if you come from that background, you don't get many opportunities.

You're stuck in politics forever, and you live your life here hoping that one day you can succeed in life, you just need a little bit off help.

An American woman from Ohio named Martha was invited by my English teacher to come to our classroom and teach us English for one hour.

She came as a volunteer every year, toe villages like mine to teach English.

And when she walked through that door, she was the first American I met in my life.

Immediately, I fell in love with her and her family.

Immediately, I connected with her son and we became email buddies penpal buddies.

After a few months off email exchanges, one day Martha invited me to their home in Ohio.

Why don't you come and visit us for one month and we will take care off all your expenses?

This was the first opportunity in my life to go and explore the United States.

One month later, I was on a plane from my village to another village called Dayton, Ohio.

For one month, a Jewish American family hosted a Muslim Arab kid in their home, the Jacobs.

I became part off their family and fell in love with their culture.

You stayed here at the house with our four cents.

You were kind of excited and curious about everything.

And one day Martha gave me another opportunity.

I thought it was a place that Onley smart people go, so I had nothing to do with it.

She flew me from Ohio to Boston to go meet her son, Eli, who's a student at Harvard.

I thought would be interesting for you to see it.

I didn't know that you'd end up going there, but I thought you could apply there.

I thought you were persons perfectly capable of applying there and possibly getting in.

And when I landed on campus as a tourist, my world changed.

People were not as smart as we think they were normal people like you and me.

I flew back home immediately and bought many books.

I improved my English Salman salmon, Salman Salmon.

I studied and studied and studied in A few months later, I applied, and to my surprise, Harvard said yes and give me a full scholarship to study their.

This made me the first Harvard college student to enter from my village.

And exactly one year after my visit, I flew to Boston again, but this time not as a tourist but as a Harvard student.

I learned a lot, and I graduated with a Harvard degree.

I went to New York, got a really good job and made money.

I traveled the world, created videos, connected with millions of people, published a book and started a really company.

The village kid in me needed opportunity.

I needed someone to open the door just a little bit to show me the light on.

I am so lucky that someone did that for me.

My parents gave me opportunity to be free and explore what I like.

My English teacher, Jamal, a CD, gave me opportunity and invited Martha to come to our English class.

And Martha's family gave me opportunity to grow, you know?

Well, you know, you give people opportunities, and whether or not they take advantage of it or appreciate it, it's up to them.

I don't know why she hosted me for a month.

I don't know why, she said I should go to Harvard.

You don't need toe build skyscrapers or invent machines.

You just need to give someone out there on opportunity to succeed.

Give them advice, jobs, love, money, support, whatever your opportunity can change someone's life forever.

And, uh, see you next week before you go.

That video you just saw I made using this camera and this microphone.

But for the first time ever, I'm ditching my camera and I'm picking up my podcasting equipment because, yes, I'm starting a podcast.

And if you liked that video, I think you're gonna love the podcast because I just wanted to make a podcast about things that I would listen to about topics that I wanna listen.

Yes, no stocks is 100% honest and raw and deep, and by the way, it's 100% free.

So keep your money and give me your ears.

Because if you like this video, I think you're gonna love this podcast.