#to begin

In practice, she does not.

She’s not miserable at all; she just isn’t exactly enjoying herself.  The mostly freshmen who step up to read their work are courageous, she thinks, but not good poets.  Not yet.  With time, perhaps some of them will be, but at the moment, it is all too easy to tell exactly what was just covered in Lit 101, and their desire for depth and resonance comes across so much more clearly than any actual emotion.  Occasionally, someone better takes the stage with something more interesting, but not often enough to convince Meredith she wouldn’t be better off at home with a book and some form of alcohol.

The most recent brave soul steps off the stage in the corner and Meredith smiles and applauds and waits to make sure they aren’t looking in her direction before she turns to her companion and pouts, “This would be better with wine.”

DAILY VOCAB

始まる ( はじまる ) to begin

初め or  始め ( はじめ ) beginning

初めて ( はじめて ) for the first time

走る ( はしる ) to run

バス bus

バター butter

二十歳 ( はたち ) 20 years old