#76- 15 Words for Fresh Starts & New Beginnings

In this episode of The Real Life English with Gabby podcast, you’ll learn 15 real-life phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang expressions that Americans actually use when talking about starting over, leaving the past behind, and turning life around.

Through a powerful story and clear examples, you’ll hear natural English in context and learn how to use expressions like turn over a new leaf, start fresh, a complete 180, and back to square one with confidence in real conversations.

This episode is perfect for English learners who want to sound more natural, fluent, and confident when talking about life changes.

You’ll hear these expressions used naturally in context and then broken down clearly, so you can start using them confidently in your own conversations.

 Don’t forget to download the episode study guide! It includes:

• All 15 vocabulary words with clear definitions
• Example sentences
• The full story from the episode
• Practice activities to help you remember and actually use the language
  
  

To get the Study Guide, click >> HERE <<

If you want to sound more natural, understand American conversations better, and talk about the future with confidence—even when it’s complicated—this episode is for you.

Plus, BIG news! English Through Media is officially LIVE! This brand-new mini course helps you understand fast English through 40+ PDF lessons by building real vocabulary, building confidence and finally stop relying on subtitles. 

For more info >> CLICK HERE <<

Get more English Lessons here:
Visit me on Instagram
Visit me on TikTok
Visit me on YouTube

Get the FREE Study Guide:

>> CLICK HERE <<

Transcript

On this episode of The Real Life English with Gabby podcast, I’ll be teaching you 15 phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang words for fresh starts and new beginnings. You’ll be learning vocabulary like a complete 180, clean up your act, back to square one, turn over a new leaf, and more.
Let’s get to it.

Hey there. Welcome to The Real Life English with Gabby podcast. I’m your host, Gabby, your fun and friendly English teacher from the one and only New York City. My goal is to teach you phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang that will help you speak English confidently and understand real American conversations.
Are you ready to improve your English skills? Let’s jump right in.

Hey, hey, hey. Greetings from the one and [00:01:00] only New York City. Welcome to episode number 76, which is all about fresh starts and new beginnings. First, I just want to apologize for my voice. I am a little congested. I got sick again. You know, for like a whole year, I didn’t get sick. My kids were going for a lot of months without really being sick.

And then November came, and you guys remember I lost my voice for like 10 days. My voice didn’t really heal after that for like two to three weeks. And since teaching and creating content is all based on, you know, me speaking, it took a while for me to really be able to heal from that.

And, you know, since then, my family and I, we’ve just been getting sick on and off. [00:02:00] And so last week, my baby and I were sick. My little daughter, she’s five months old, her and I got sick. This time, we caught it from my husband, and, you know, thankfully, it hasn’t been anything too serious. It’s been a lot of smaller viruses. Thankfully, nothing too big. But unfortunately, I sound congested. I tried to wait as long as I could to see if my voice was coming back without too much congestion, but you’ll hear at different points during this episode, I have congestion. So I’m very sorry about that.

Also, guys, things are going crazy in New York City. Oh my goodness. So yes, the whole country is chaotic, which we talked about in the previous episode, but we got one of the biggest snowstorms that we’ve had in years [00:03:00], and we have had sub-zero temperatures, Fahrenheit, not Celsius, currently. It’s been like this for almost, I think today’s like day six or seven of sub-zero temperatures.

It’s really crazy. We’re just trying to stay warm over here. And so, yeah, very, very eventful. You know, here in the United States, it’s never boring the past year, but especially in New York City, there’s always something going on. But, yeah, now let’s take a look at today’s episode. This episode is all about fresh starts, change, and moving forward.

I chose this because this kind of language shows up everywhere in real-life English. You know, native speakers don’t always say, “Oh, I changed my life,” or, “I made a big improvement.” Instead, they say [00:04:00] things like, “I turned my life around,” “I started fresh,” “I put the past behind me.” You’ll hear these expressions in conversations with friends, in movies and TV shows, in podcasts, and even at work or at school, if you’re around Americans—anywhere that people are speaking about their lives, their careers, or even difficult moments that they’ve overcome.

You’ll hear the language in today’s episode. This vocabulary—it’s not just useful, it’s personal. We all go through moments where we are stepping out of failure or even disappointment. Maybe we had high expectations that we were going to do something, and we were disappointed because we weren’t able to achieve it. We need to let go and move on. And being able to talk about these [00:05:00] experiences in English helps us to sound more confident, more natural, more fluent, but more like yourself.

So in this episode, you’re gonna learn popular vocabulary that Americans actually use when we’re talking about extreme change. The previous episode, we talked about, you know, change and new adventures and going into the new year with hopes of change, but in this episode, it’s more about leaving the past behind and starting something new. These are expressions you can use in real conversations, not just in textbook activities. So if you’ve ever felt like starting over, making a change, or going in a new direction, this episode is for you.

Before we continue, I just [00:06:00] wanna remind you that there’s a study guide waiting for you that will help you remember and practice everything that you learn. This episode, every study guide comes with the words and definitions, new example sentences, the story, and more importantly, the practice activities that will help reinforce the definitions in your brain.

Remember that according to science, you need to be exposed to new vocabulary six or seven times before you remember it. So the way that my episodes are structured and the study guide is created, it’s so that by the time you finish listening to the episode and finish with the study guide, you’ll have been exposed six to seven times at least to all of the new vocabulary, so that you’re more likely to [00:07:00] remember. Also, the way that the episodes are structured, you’re exposed to the word in real-life context first, and your brain is working to solve the definitions on its own. I’m not spoon-feeding you the definitions, and this is, again, something that will help your brain remember the vocabulary more easily.

In order to get the study guide, just head to the episode description and click the link.

Alright, let’s talk about the vocabulary that you are going to hear in today’s episode. Okay.
 We have clean up your act, break away from, put something behind you, let go of, move on, a new chapter, a breath of fresh air, a complete 180, turn your life around or turn things around, wipe the slate clean or a clean slate, start fresh, turn over a new leaf, close the door on something, back to square one, and reinvent yourself.

Now let’s get to the story.

If this is your first time listening to the podcast, you are going to listen closely as I read a story that I created that uses all of this episode’s vocabulary in real-life contexts. Listen for the words and listen for the context to see if you can still understand without knowing some of the definitions. Also, see if you can guess the meanings based on the context. After I read the story, we are going to review all of the definitions and hear new example sentences. Alright, here we go.

Last weekend, [00:09:00] my friends and I went to a business conference in New York City. We went because Davis Ramirez was the main speaker. Most people know Davis as the very successful CEO of Lighthouse Media. People see his confidence, his energy, and his success, and they think that he’s always been this way. But as we found out, that’s not true. In order to inspire people, Davis is very open and honest about his story.

When he was a teenager, his life was really messy. He was constantly getting into trouble at school, hanging out with the wrong crowd, and making bad choices. His parents kept trying to get him to clean up his act, but nothing seemed to be working. Nothing could convince him to change his behavior. By 16, he had been kicked out of [00:10:00] school, and by 17, he had been arrested for shoplifting and put into a juvenile detention center. It was there that he finally realized that he needed a life change. He wanted to break away from his troubled life and put it all behind him. He promised his family that he would let go of his past behavior, move on from his group of friends, and start a new chapter.

A short time later, he got accepted into a youth rehabilitation program that would help with recovery while also providing life skills and job training. The program would also help him get into a university.

The director of the program was a man named Marcus, who was a breath of fresh air to Davis because he spoke honestly to him but didn’t judge him. Marcus helped him do a complete 180 [00:11:00] and turn his life around. In the rehabilitation program, Davis was finally given a clean slate and had the chance to start fresh. With Marcus’ help, Davis truly turned over a new leaf. He broke away from his old habits and stopped spending time with people who kept pulling him down. It wasn’t easy, though. There were days when he wanted to quit, but Marcus encouraged him to keep going. Thankfully, Davis made a choice to completely close the door on his old life so that he would never have to go back to square one and undo his progress.

Little by little, things changed. He graduated high school, got accepted into a top university, and worked harder than ever. He had truly reinvented himself.

Years later, that [00:12:00] same troubled teen became a leader, a mentor, and eventually a CEO. Today, when people ask Davis about his success, he doesn’t hide his past. He shares it because his story proves that anyone can change and have a new beginning.
 The end.

Alright, now let’s take a look at the definitions and talk about some example sentences.

First step, we have clean up your act. In the story, we see that his parents kept trying to get him to clean up his act. Clean up your act is an idiom, and it means to improve your behavior, improve your lifestyle, but specifically after making bad choices, after causing problems, after getting into trouble. [00:13:00]

So it’s not that you’re doing okay and you wanna do better. No, it’s you’re doing poorly. You made a lot of mistakes, and now you want to improve. For example, after getting written up at work, he decided he needed to clean up his act and start getting to work early every day.

Next up, we have break away from. He wanted to break away from his troubled life and put it all behind him. So let’s talk about both of these. Break away from is a three-word phrasal verb. You also have breakaway, but here we’re using break away from. Break away from means to leave, to separate from a person, a group. It could also be a situation or even a habit. She wanted to break away from alcoholism, for [00:14:00] example. So we use this phrasal verb when we want there to be a clear separation. For example, she broke away from her old friend group because she wanted a healthier lifestyle.

Then we have to put something behind you. This is an idiom, and it means to stop thinking about a past problem or bad experience and focus on the present or future.

So we have the literal definition, right? Like, “Hey, can you take my bag and put it behind you?” But in this case, this is mental. So I would say, okay, put it all behind you. You made a mistake. Stop thinking about it. Stop focusing on it, and focus on the present. Focus on the future. So this is a mental change we’re talking about when you put something behind you. For example, he put his divorce behind [00:15:00] him and focused on raising his children.

Next up, we have let go of. Here we have another three-word phrasal verb. To let go of something means to stop holding onto something emotionally, mentally, or physically. Now, let go of—if we use it in the literal sense—we’re just opening our hand and we’re not holding it anymore. But when we talk about it from an emotional and mental, psychological standpoint perspective, we’re talking about when you’re holding onto something in your mind. Something bad happened to you, and you can’t let it go. We’re saying you’ve gotta let go of it emotionally, mentally. We typically say let go of some kind of emotion. For example, she finally let go of her anger after talking [00:16:00] things through with her family.

Next up, we have move on. Move on is a phrasal verb, and it means to continue with your life after a difficult event or change. Sometimes when things happen, we kind of stay in it. Let’s just say you end a relationship—you’re kind of still thinking about it. You are processing what happened. But then you have to move on. You have to put it behind you and move on. So in a relationship, moving on means maybe opening yourself up to new relationships, starting to date new people after a breakup, for example. It took time, but he moved on after losing his job.

Next up, we have a new chapter. This is an expression that we use to talk about a new stage in life, a new period in life, typically. [00:17:00] It’s exciting, and typically it comes after something that was sad or tragic or disappointing.

If you read books, you know that books and textbooks are split into chapters. Chapters typically tell a new part of the story. And so this is where this expression comes from. It’s like you’re reading a book. One chapter finishes—chapter nine finishes. Chapter ten is going to begin. And so this is where this expression comes from. For example, on her first day of university, she felt like she was starting a new chapter.

Next up, we have an idiom: a breath of fresh air. This is something new and refreshing. It typically brings positive change. It brings relief. And imagine if you’re in a place—you’re in a house, it smells really bad. You go outside and you breathe in the fresh [00:18:00] air. Or maybe you’re in the city, your city has a lot of pollution. You get in your car, you drive an hour into the mountains, you get out—wow—fresh air. It’s new. It’s refreshing. It brings positive change or relief. We use this a lot when something great, like some kind of change, happens in our life that’s different and positive. For example, the new manager was a breath of fresh air for the team. This means that the manager was different in a good way. And in the story, Marcus is described as being a breath of fresh air because he was honest but didn’t judge. So we can assume that most people who interacted with Davis maybe were a bit judgmental. And so Marcus comes along, and he’s not judgmental and he’s honest, and this is a breath of fresh air.

Next up, we have a complete 180. In the story, it says [00:19:00] he did a complete 180 and turned his life around. So let’s talk about both of these. A complete 180 is an idiom. Now, 180 degrees is to face the opposite direction, right? So if you’re walking and you make a 180-degree turn, you’re facing the opposite direction. You’re gonna go back, right?

So when we use this as an idiom, we use it to describe a total and dramatic change in behavior, in opinion, in direction. It signifies a complete reversal of what you’re doing. It’s typically good, but it could be bad. So we could be talking about someone who had a really troubling life, like we heard in the story, and then they completely changed their life for the better. Or it could be someone who was doing well, something happened, and then they start to not have good experiences, and then they start to [00:20:00] live a bad lifestyle. For example, he did a complete 180 last year and became serious about his health.

Next up, we have to turn things around or turn your life around. Both of these expressions mean to make a major positive change after some kind of difficult period or negative period. For example, after rehab, she turned her life around and went back to school. This means that she completely changed her life. This is very similar to a complete 180. A complete 180 we use as a noun, like she did a complete 180. And then turn your life around we use as a verb. So he or she turned his life around, turned things around. So the meaning is similar, but the use is different.

Next up, we have to wipe the slate clean or a [00:21:00] clean slate. This is an idiom that has come up before in the podcast. And a slate is like a board, a chalkboard or a whiteboard. That was in the past. That’s what people used in school. Kids used to write with chalk on a slate. So when you wipe your slate clean or when you have a clean slate, it means that you’re forgetting past mistakes and you’re starting again without blame. It’s like you’re starting from the beginning. It’s almost like a forgiveness of your past sins, your past mistakes, your past crimes.

Imagine someone commits a crime. They go to court, and the judge totally forgives what they did. You’d have a clean slate. The judge wiped your slate clean. You are starting again in a new way. For example, they agreed to wipe the slate clean after the argument.

Next up, we have to start fresh. To start fresh [00:22:00] means to begin again in a new way or a better way. We use this a lot. Typically, it’s about life change. You can use it in smaller ways, but we typically use it for life change. For example, he moved to the city to start fresh after the breakup. We also say a fresh start.

Next up, we have the idiom to turn over a new leaf. This is to change your behavior and start acting in a better way. This dates back to the 1500s, when you would turn the page in a book, which was called a leaf or a leaflet. So turn over a new leaf is when you turn to a new page, for example. She turned over a new leaf and stopped skipping class.

Next up, we have the idiom to close the [00:23:00] door on something. Visualize that you’re actually closing the door and leaving something out. Close the door on something means to decide that something is finished and will not be returned or will not be returning. Typically, we say to close the door on something, and typically that something is a noun. It could be a verb. For example, he closed the door on his acting career and chose teaching instead.

Next up, we have the idiom back to square one. When you go back to square one or to be back at square one, it means that you’re returning to the beginning, but specifically because of a failed plan. So oftentimes people are trying to find a solution and they can’t, and then they say, [00:24:00] “Oh, you know what? We’re back to square one. Time to go back to square one.”

Many people believe that the origin of this is from playing board games where you move your piece from the beginning to the end. And if you make a mistake, you have to go all the way back to square one, or the first position, the first box, the first square. For example, when the deal fell through at work, they were back to square one.

And lastly, we have the expression to reinvent yourself. Notice we have the word reinvent. We have invent, and then re as a prefix before it, and it means again. So it’s like to create yourself again. Reinvent yourself means to change how you live, change how you work, or to see yourself in a completely [00:25:00] different way. For example, after turning 40, she reinvented herself as a business owner.

Well, you just learned 15 idioms, slang words, and phrasal verbs for fresh starts and new beginnings. The next step now is to really take that extra step and make sure that you remember everything that you just learned. And the best way to do that is through repetition. So go download the study guide.

Then once you do that, do the practice activities. Once you do the practice activities, it’s time to use the vocabulary. The more quickly that you use the vocabulary after hearing it, the better you’ll become with using it, the more it’ll stick in your brain. So I want you to pick five [00:26:00] of the new vocabulary words or expressions from this episode, and I want you to use them.

There are a lot of creative ways that you can use the new vocabulary, including teaching a friend, writing someone an email if they’re also learning English, or even writing it in a vocabulary journal. One of the best ways that I tell my students to always practice new vocabulary is through an audio file. Record yourself out loud, defining it, giving an example, and using it in real-life context. However you decide to practice, just really make sure you’re doing it so that you can remember all of the vocabulary.

Well, that’s a wrap for today’s episode of The Real Life English with Gabby podcast. Be sure to download today’s study guide so that you can learn how to [00:27:00] use this vocabulary confidently. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe for more weekly adventures in English learning. Also, I’d love to hear from you, so please leave me a review.
Thanks so much for tuning in.