"Tell me who you hang out with, and I'll tell you who you are”

This is an age old saying, but it's true. And what's more, I wanted to use it to portray a massive discrepancy that we have in theoretical and practical knowledge.

First a simple question: Do you think a primary school English teacher and a high school English teacher are speaking English at the same level?

You would probably argue that the high school teacher is probably slightly more skilled since he teaches more advance students.

Same could be said for a university English teacher. Chances are he will be using even higher grade of English sophistication.

Before I continue my argument, I wanted to first introduce you to an unlikely character for this debate. The world renowned chef, Marco Pierre White.

I know. Who is this guy, and why are you showing me a picture of some chef when we're talking about English?

Marco isn't just some chef.

In 1995, he became the youngest chef to earn three Michelin stars. But most of you should know that this man was the mentour of none other than Gordon Ramsay himself.

It is said that Marco was such a strict chef, that he actually made Gordon Cry. In an interview he later said: "No, I didn't make Gordon Ramsay cry, he made himself cry. That was his choice to cry."

Why am I telling you about Marco? Because he came to a striking conclusion and decided, in an unprecedented move, to give back all of his Michelin Stars.

And it's not the decision that I want to highlight here, but the reason behind his decision.

Marco realised that the people that were judging his restaurants, the people responsible for giving or taking away his Michelin Stars, were in fact less experienced and knowledgeble than him.

I have a confession to make.

I never graduated from the University in English and I never finished a single exam. Before I make my argument, I want to emphasise that despite my brief and unsuccessful visit to academic world, I have nothing but utmost respect for the teachers that around the world, have made school their dedicated battlefield.

God knows I picked my own battlefield and am just another faithful servant to the description of a teacher.

When I left the university, I had left behind my classmates. Most of them would go on to get a Bachelor or even a Master's degree.

What I left behind wasn't the degree, but the knowledge of theory over the knowledge of experience.

I made a quick and rational calculation, using the available data, to NOT continue with my studies, and to invest the time that my old classmates would invest in theory, into practice.

I spoke as they read.

I recorded as they wrote.

I mastered my voice as they graduated.

Now I have no paper, no degree, no theory and over 10.000 hours of spoken English practice.

And they have a paper, degree, theory and perhaps around 1.000 hours of spoken English practice.

In just a brief few years, I attained so much experience, that they simply will never catch up to me. Just like Marco Pierre White got his experience by being in the Kitchen, I've decided to make my voice my signature dish.

I am not writing this to diminish or demonise universities or theory oriented learners. But I want you to have contrast as to what your end goal is.

If it's theoretical mastery, then by all means, unsubscribe from this email and move on.

But if you actually want to use your voice, speak clearly and confidently and master the instrument you were given at birth, then please, start speaking.

At the very beginning of this email I asked a simple question: Do you think a primary school English teacher and a high school English teacher are speaking English at the same level?

What all teachers have in common is that they have a passion for English. But alas, if you're surrounded by beginner English learners (kindergarden or primary school), you will end up using shorter sentences, simpler vocabulary and less intricate structuring. You will be forced to speak easy English.

Just like Marco, I realised that I was surrounded by people that for most of their day, would dwell in the theoretical world, whilst I desired just merely to speak.

I still make grammar mistakes, I still screw up just about all the time. Heck, this email is probably littered with mistakes. I don't care. I only care about my voice. I love failing, and I love moving forward. Most of all, I like to speak. And I attract a lot of attention because of my voice.

If I had a Michelin Star, this would be me giving it back.