The First Word I Fell in Love With

I can’t recollect the day I learned it, but I remember speculating what it meant.

The word was "serendipity."

A long and rather unusual word, I thought. I came across it when reading a book and was instantly intrigued.

I didn’t really know what it meant but liked the way it sounded. I had heard of serene and pity and wondered if there was a connection. When I looked it up, the meaning made me smile:

“The occurrence of something beautiful or interesting by chance.”

History, as we know it, is full of happy accidents.

Important discoveries, including Penicillin, anesthesia, velcro, and the handy post-it notes, are all classic examples of serendipity.

Yet, among history’s serendipitous moments, the discovery of Green Tea is one of my favorites! Visualize the wind blowing a tea leaf into a cup of hot water “by chance”. The Chinese Emperor Shennong is said to have sipped on this “accidental” infusion and relished it’s refreshing and unique taste. And that’s how, Green Tea was born!!

Learning about serendipity made me realize that English wasn’t just a school subject— it was the start of my journey with words.

Since then, I’ve found many more captivating words: ephemeral, luminous, elixir, and more.But "serendipity" was my first and will remain my favorite always!