Shadowing Practice: alone in new york city on my birthday. - Learn English Speaking with Video

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i just got the craziest text i'm kind of nervous hello oh my god this hit me in my face

it's my birthday hey guys it's your girl courtney

and welcome back to my channel y 'all it has been

a minute okay i have a lot of explaining to do

and we'll get to that

but you know what today's a very special day it's your

girl's birthday it's your girl's birthday we're on the way to

new york i had the craziest morning already mind you it

is 10 a .m i have a story time to tell

y 'all i need to sit down i don't even know how to start this

but y 'all we are going to new york for

so many years i've been invited to new york fashion week

and i would always say no

because my birthday always falls on the week of new york fashion week

but i said this time i don't think it'll be bad to celebrate my birthday in new york okay

and we're going solo so this is kind of like my first solo trip

and i am very very excited this morning started very hectic

i had a hair appointment book for 6 a .m yeah

woke up this morning oh my god i think my uber

is here guys we have to go he's here it takes me a

while to get to the airport and it says boarding starts in an hour

and i'm checking in i think i'm gonna have to tell

the story later okay please remind me i've already canceled like two ubers

because they came too early let's go ignore the mess i'm in new york

guys we're in new york this hotel is insane i'm actually in shop i'm staying at the peninsula

and y 'all this place is a dream this might be the biggest hotel room i've ever stayed in

because i don't really stay in like really really big hotel

rooms i got upgraded look we got the lower we got

the two robes um it's just gonna be me using it

though let me show y 'all what we working with hello hello hello like this is insane this is

so nice this is a really nice hotel i will say also

when i arrived here the customer service was

so good i feel very very welcomed here it's my birthday i decided i wanted to splurge

and so we're staying at the peninsula in new york

and to be honest also there were limited options i guess it's

because it's new york fashion week oh my god hold on y 'all they just brought me a fridge

let me even run it down what's been going on okay

i'm in a rush i need to get ready to do something

because it's my birthday and i need to go out into the city but besides that when i arrived

i saw my manager had sent me some goodies a bunch of cupcakes let's open it up

and then when they were bringing it up

because basically i think my manager has sent this like beginning

of the day i just arrived in new york around 6 p .m

so while i was in my flight the concierge was like let's just leave it in the in the fridge

so they've been holding it for me and so then also

when they dropped it off they were also like we can't come here empty -handed

and they brought a little balloon

and also like this cute little um teddy bear this is

so cute i love the service here everyone is so nice and then

because i have a bunch of cakes they were like oh

do you want a fridge i said a fridge she said

yeah we can bring a fridge your girl got a fridge let's do an unboxing also

while we're here i need to run down everything that's happened today

because even though it's my birthday and i'm

so grateful for everything i did low -key have a breakdown

basically this morning i almost had a crash out actually i

did have a crash out i crazily enough had booked a hair appointment for 6 a .m i had

that 6 a .m appointment

because i genuinely believed i could make it i went to bed really late i woke up in a panic

because my phone was ringing and i'm like oh that's the unknown number

and then i look at the time 6 20 a .m mind you the drive to go

and get my hair done is a 20 minute no 30 minute drive in

that moment once i look at the time

and i look at the unknown number calling me the sleep from my body disappeared instantly

and panic just hit me so i answer i said hello i'm

so sorry i overslept you know like i'm trying to explain

myself i said i can be there oh my god i

think this lady wanted to kill me through the phone

but also it's like i understand why you're upset

because i'm missing the appointment that's valid i understand that

but the way this lady spoke to me i was like

this is no way you talk to a customer she was

so angry she said uh what now

and i said i can be there she said how long is it gonna take you

and i said 30 minutes

and she said no ma 'am no ma 'am i hear you

and then proceeds to say i drove 30 minutes here waited 20 minutes

and i'm not gonna wait another 30 minutes for you to arrive i said

okay and then she kept like going on and on

and it's like okay girl i get it you could have just said no

but i feel like she was maybe really in a mood

so she wanted to take it out on me

and also like at this point i'm apologetic

and i'm also not talking back

because it's like i need you right now i need to do my hair

so i'm not trying to make no type of enemy we hang up

and maybe not even 30 seconds after

that call i get a notification from my bank that the remaining balance has been paid.

you guys don't understand how exhausted i was in the morning like mind you i already paid another 250 dollars

because i had to pay an extra fee just to do

a morning service think about it like this there's a lot of money

that was spent because i wanted to get my hair done

so you could tell like this was intentional i tried to pay extra just

so we can get this done it gets worse

so she charges my card

and then i proceed to check her instagram story what are

you posting on your instagram story at 6 a .m what

i click it i could have stayed in my bed this is

so unprofessional i started crying

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because i was like oh my god my hair is not done

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and i was like this is horrible

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and then also for new york fashion week i'm trying to

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do some stylist stuff trying to elevate a little bit you

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feel me trying to get with stylists i'm not hearing responses

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from people like there's lack of communication on all parts

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and i'm just like getting frustrated

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and i'm thinking about like how i don't want to do

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this trip anymore like i literally wanted to cancel this i was about to tell my manager

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and everybody then i got up i took a shower

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and i got on the plane and here i am i am

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allowing myself to be happy i'm not gonna be upset my hair's not done

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but luckily i know how to do hair

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so we got something on our head and then i come to my hotel

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and there's already cupcakes waiting for me like oh so sweet

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and then also my family showing me

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so much love like my friends like i feel

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so good it's like this is a new age i'm happy do they know i'm here alone oh Oh my God.

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Guys, who is eating up with this?

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Oh, I think I've had this before and it was so good.

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Oh my God, is there a spoon?

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Mm, whipped and swirled.

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I think it's like banana pudding, so good.

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I might be going out tonight because there's a party that's happening tonight, but I'm not on the list and I don't feel like doing the whole like, I'm on the list, can you check, like call somebody.

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I don't feel like doing that right now.

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I'm still gonna go out though, so we need to get ready.

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I'm gonna find somewhere to go and it's gonna be solo.

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It's gonna be my first time going out solo in New York

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because I have low -key been going out solo just a

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tad like I went out solo in Houston went out solo

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in LA I've only done it once in all of those cities

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but now it's time to go out solo in New York

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I honestly I love going out solo I'm changing I'm growing

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this is crazy though I have to fit into my outfits

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this is not good for my sweet tooth I hear

135

when people tell me oh hit me up when you're in the city

136

and then when you tell them you're in the city it's crickets I be doing

137

that though i guess this is my car mode let's get out of here let me get ready

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your girl did not go out last night

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because y 'all this morning i had a fitting at 5

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30 a .m the process of like fully getting ready going out

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and then coming back and then trying to wake up early in the morning

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when i already overslept this same day remember i missed my hair appointment I said we're not gonna do

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that I stayed in the sleep was phenomenal it was amazing

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and then I woke up 5 30 a .m it was time for a fitting

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and we got so many looks together I'm

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so excited these are some of the stuff we have a

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lot of Kurt Diger things going on this bag is everything some jewelry pieces we have some shoes

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and we got some beautiful dresses and I'm ready to wear them

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but I'm so excited this was literally like a proper fitting I'm ready to go out into these streets

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but my outfit right now

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that i'm planning on wearing we have an event today a gifting suite

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that i'm going to it's going to be princess poly

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so we're about to go there

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and um they want me to wear one of their items

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so i'm just going to put on guys oh my god

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sorry i just got the craziest text it's not crazy

157

if you're in new york i'll take you out for lunch

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while you're out here no no no no no not right now it's

159

so funny how people be using birthdays as a way to

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slide back birthdays holidays those are always the days someone just

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used my birthday let's let's catch up for lunch no we're good we're good over here let's get ready

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because honestly I'm late I missed one of the events this morning I can't lie

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because after the fitting I went back to sleep I was

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so still so exhausted like I feel like my body truly needs three days of sleeping

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and I haven't been giving myself that

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so I slept starting off New York Fashion Week kind of strong

167

but let's get ready now because we have an event at 1

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and it's about to be 11 I'm I'm pretty sure my cycle's about to start.

169

So we have somebody at CVS getting me my goodies.

170

Oh, and I have coffee on the way.

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And I ordered a bunch of Red Bulls.

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I need energy this weekend and I don't feel like doing anything.

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You want the coffee now?

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You want the water?

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Yes, I want the coffee now.

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Ooh!

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we're ready outfit of the day oh oh we have the

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top this top is from princess polly shorts are from fashion nova

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and then we have on these steve madden little kitten heels to take on the city.

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I'm excited.

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Jewelry is honestly from a bunch of different places.

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I can't tell you.

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We're ready.

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I am very late i can't even lie

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because why did i look at the map and it says i will get there at 1 15

186

because the drive there is 42 minutes mind you it's three

187

miles away okay we're wearing my paper bag y 'all i'm

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so loyal at her like she's my girl i could buy 100 bags

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and i'm gonna still pull her out i love her i think it's mostly

190

because of this i love this like pink accessory also the most hydrating lotion you'll ever use in your life

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if you've ever dealt with dry skin this will take away the dry

192

and then hopefully after we're done hopefully i can like stop somewhere

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and get some food

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because i need some lunch i haven't had anything to eat

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today yeah here's a better feel of the fit sorry excuse

196

the mess i like it summer in nyc yeah it's a

197

vibe the uber's here wait why am i kind of nervous

198

guys this is my first new york fashion week event i'm kind of nervous

199

because like what are we gonna do there what am i

200

gonna say oh oh let me pack some goodies in case an accident happens.

201

And then I'm wearing white pants.

202

Doesn't make sense, white shorts.

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It doesn't make sense, but I'm a risky girl.

204

Okay guys, we're here, and there's a lot of stuff.

205

They even have a tattoo artist.

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tattoos and then cute

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it's a vibe i picked like five things

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and i can't wait for them to come in because they look

209

so cute they even have food oh this looks good white chocolate matcha dip croissant.

210

Okay.

211

Interesting.

212

It's a party.

213

Sorry.

214

We're getting a little mimosa.

215

Thank you.

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I'm just now getting home.

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I'm pretty sure I spent two hours in that Uber.

218

It's already time for us to start going to the next event.

219

I've only done one event today.

220

It's almost taken up four hours of my day and I'm starving.

221

And the thing is I had like such a plan today.

222

I said, okay, we're going to go to Princess Polly.

223

And then after that, we're going to go and get food, set out a restaurant like do something the traffic here is

224

unbelievable i don't think i've ever experienced it this bad

225

and apparently there's a lot of stuff that's happening in the

226

city right now like the u .s open is happening right now

227

so everyone is here for the u .s open there's also

228

a bunch of people here for new york fashion week apparently

229

there's also like a meeting for the un i don't know like there's un people

230

that work for the un united nations they all gather here

231

the kids started school like i don't know everyone is just on the streets

232

and it's too much the drive from where i was to

233

my hotel i was supposed to actually get here around i think 3 30

234

and the ride was an hour long it's four o 'clock

235

so that means

236

that it took almost two hours basically okay i'm literally starving i forgot i ordered this earlier today

237

and i'm also glad that i went heavy with the makeup

238

because we're not redoing this also the cool thing about this

239

hotel everything's controlled by like this ipad now period it was

240

actually a good time at princess polly i got a lot

241

of cute pieces i I usually don't shop at Princess Polly like that, but the compliments I got on this top, I might have to start shopping more.

242

I don't think I ever mentioned my birthday photo.

243

I did a whole photo shoot for that.

244

People are loving it.

245

Hello?

246

Hello?

247

Hello?

248

Hello?

249

Hello?

250

Hello?

251

Hello?

252

Hello?

253

Follow me on Instagram.

254

I probably shouldn't eat because we have dinner with Galore Magazine, but I'm hungry oh they have fried rice oh we might have to get fried rice

255

but we might actually do a salad though oh i love me a cob salad i just call them on my

256

hi um i wanted to know if i could order a cob salad

257

one guest well i have to start leaving now bro what

258

the hell bye y 'all okay guys the next look is ready it's literally

259

so pretty oh my god i love i literally love it

260

so much the only issue is this outfit is supposed to be like my hair is supposed to be up

261

and stuff but i don't have a claw clip

262

and i also didn't get a hairstylist for this trip

263

so you know everything about this trip was last minute

264

but i'm still glad i went but this is still cute like yeah period

265

so let's put on our shoes

266

and also my food came we're not gonna have time to eat it

267

but this is the salad yum and this is the creme brulee okay let me call the uber

268

Music make me lose my mind Or lose control

269

hey guys it's literally the next day i am having such

270

a good time in new york y 'all like i'm definitely doing new york fashion week again next year

271

and i actually cannot believe that i'm doing this for myself like it's

272

so crazy i'm having such a great time at these events

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yeah i'm doing this like i really like this this is

274

the next day i am ready i was supposed to go out last night

275

but honestly like all the events all day long i cannot bother going out at nighttime okay

276

so we came back here and we were slumped

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and i tried to record as much as possible

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but i don't know sometimes when i'm like talking to people

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and just living in the moment i always forget the only

280

reason i was able to get photos last night is

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because i was able to find someone in new york

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that could just help me with content we just met yesterday

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but she killed it with the photos

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so she is coming probably in a few minutes into this room

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and we're gonna take some photos for the event i'm about

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to go to right before i go there's no plus one

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so she can't come to the event

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but i've been having such a good time i've been meeting so many people i like new york

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and i'm just so glad that i actually came because like for

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so many years i always got in my head about new

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york fashion week i don't know i always felt like you

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have to be really to the tens everything like honestly no

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i've been doing my own makeup my own hair like the only thing i had was a stylist

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but to be honest you don't even need a stylist

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if you really lock in and figure out your looks for the weekend yeah i'm just

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so happy i gave it a chance and stuff i told myself

297

that this was going to be the year

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that i say yes to everything and it's literally been just

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that like i'm in new york fashion week i'm doing something

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younger me could only dream of in october i don't want to say it

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but if you can guess guess

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and then the beginning of the year started at the grammys i went to the world cup i've done

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so many photo shoots i've just been doing everything

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that i said i wanted to do and i'm just

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so proud of myself literally even last year i remember i

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did my first photo shoot y 'all watched it literally i

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think the last vlog on the channel was me doing my photo shoot and

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that was my first ever like photo shoot oh my god

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i dropped my merch i'm just really happy with myself

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and i know

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that you know the uploads on youtube have been a one it hasn't been consistent like

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that and i understand that but like there's another part of me that's being fed

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if that makes sense and i'm just oh i don't want to cry

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but i'm just so happy and i'm happy

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that oh never mind we're done i'm sorry i'm just happy

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happy birthday to me also i feel like i'm just overly

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emotional this week i'm telling you i think my cycle's coming

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like that's another thing i've been waiting for it it's still not here

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but yeah that's the only reason but okay let me get dressed

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and um you will see tasha when she's here ciao

321

maybe i shouldn't have stopped talking abruptly once the tears started

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to form finish up what i was saying i'm just grateful

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for how everything in my life has gone i feel like

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this is the best way i could have spent my birthday just

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because i really didn't have plans i didn't know what i

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was gonna do nor was i really thinking about it the

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only thing i thought of was i would do like a solo trip

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because I've been talking about doing a solo trip since I

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was probably 21 like I've been wanting to do a solo trip forever

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but I wouldn't go out the country you know

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that was what I was thinking I was gonna do like at the end of the month to celebrate

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but then I was like bro I've been doing way too

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much traveling like I'm tired like I actually want to just

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be home for months that's all I want right now going

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to New York Fashion Week I might as well just find

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a way to celebrate my birthday here it's just annoying how like you know

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when you're trying to do like new things there's some stuff

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that has to suffer a little bit

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because I'm saying yes to all these cool opportunities it's

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so hard to be like wait i need to go edit a video so hard

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or like since july it was the world cup the world cup changed everything like i was traveling

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so much for the world cup you would think i was a player it was too much

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but i had a great time met some amazing people just

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excited for this last quarter of the year this last quarter of the year is always

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when i lock in i've been letting summer get ahead of me i can't lie i don't think i'm going to

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lakers this year my dad is going to nigeria

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but like i don't know we'll see we'll see because because you know how I get.

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If you're watching this and you're afraid to go places by yourself, just do it.

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I was afraid to go places by myself for such a long time.

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When people say it's better, they're not lying.

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They're trying to put you on game, for real.

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Also guys, the dress I wore yesterday, oh my God.

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Compliments, compliments left and right.

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I'm gonna find a way to steal this dress.

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But yeah, I can't wait till tomorrow because tomorrow's gonna be my dedicated like birthday celebration day.

356

We have a small book.

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At first I wasn't gonna go see a Broadway show

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but I think I'm gonna go see a Broadway show

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because why not i haven't seen a broadway show

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or like a musical nothing i haven't seen that since high school bro

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so it's time so the plan for tomorrow is spa it's gonna be a four -hour spa day

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which i'm like dang okay they're gonna like uh exfoliate the

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body then they're gonna give me a massage oh my god

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this hit me in my face no it didn't burn that much

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but like it touched me that's what we're not gonna do

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guys this is my friend tasha hello she's helping me take pictures and it is eating okay so get ready

367

oh my god what did you ever cancel what Yeah.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 367 sentences and 4111 words to shadow. The speech runs for 19:52. The speaker talks fast, about 207 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
outfit noun	/ˈaʊtfɪt/	A set of clothing (with accessories).
salad noun	/ˈsæl.əd/	A food consisting principally of raw vegetables (especially greens, e.g. lettuce), other savoury ingredients (typically cooked), fruit, or confectionary; often…
uber adjective	/ˈuːbəɹ/	Super; high-level; high-ranking.
cancel verb	/ˈkæn.sl̩/	To cross out something with lines etc.
broadway noun	/ˈbɹɔːdweɪ/	An esplanade.
compliment noun	/ˈkɑmpləmənt/	An expression of praise, congratulation, or respect.
insane adjective	/ɪnˈseɪn/	Exhibiting unsoundness or disorder of mind; not sane; utterly mad.
grateful adjective	/ˈɡɹeɪtf(ə)l/	Of a person or their actions, feelings, etc.: expressing gratitude or appreciation; appreciative, thankful.
panic noun	/ˈpænɪk/	Overwhelming fear or fright, often affecting groups of people or animals; (countable) an instance of this; a fright, a scare.
shoe noun	/ˈʃu/	A protective covering for the foot, with a bottom part composed of thick leather or plastic sole and often a thicker heel, and a softer upper part made of…
proceed verb	/pɹəˈsid/	To move, pass, or go forward or onward; to advance; to carry on.
tattoo noun	/tæˈtuː/	An image made on a body part, usually the skin with ink and a needle.
peninsula noun	/pəˈnɪn.sə.lə/	A piece of land projecting into water from a larger land mass.
vibe noun	/vaɪb/	An atmosphere or aura felt to belong to a person, place or thing.
fry verb	/fɹaɪ/	To cook (something) in hot fat.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
go out verb		To leave, especially a building.
wake up verb	/ˌweɪk ˈʌp/	To stop sleeping; to awake.
come back verb		To return to a place.
figure out verb		To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
finish up verb		To complete the last details of a task.
get ahead of verb		To take preemptive action before a potential development becomes reality.
get out of verb		To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of.
get up verb		To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	what's been going · they've been holding · haven't been giving
Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result	if you're in new york i'll take
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has been · i've been invited · i've already canceled
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	i've been invited · has been paid · was spent

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 206 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, gonna, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: bother /ˈbɑðɚ/, gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, tooth /tuθ/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shoe /ˈʃu/, rush /ɹʌʃ/, celebration /ˌsɛl.ɪˈbɹeɪ.ʃən/, massage /məˈsɑ(d)ʒ/, notification /ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/
Long words — get the stress right: peninsula /pəˈnɪn.sə.lə/, celebration /ˌsɛl.ɪˈbɹeɪ.ʃən/, genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, unbelievable /ˌʌnbɪˈliːvəbl̩/, notification /ˌnoʊtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn̩/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like outfit, salad, uber.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: alone in new york city on my birthday. - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

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