(something) first started to (do something)

You can talk about when something began with the phrase "___ first start to ___":

I first started to suspect that there was something wrong when I was cooking dinner and realized that I hadn't heard from her all day.

When did you first start to think that you might want to be a doctor?

People usually use "first start to" with words that describe thoughts and emotions like:

• realize
• think
• feel
• notice
• wonder

Adding "first" is optional. You can also leave it out like this:

I started to suspect that there was something wrong when I was cooking dinner and realized that I hadn't heard from her all day.

But saying that something "first started" to happen emphasizes that this was the beginning of something that continued for a little while.

feel like (quote)

In casual English, we sometimes put thoughts into quotes like this:

I thought, "What am I doing here? I should leave."

The sentences inside of the quotation marks are a representation of your thoughts. You can also turn emotions into a quote like this:

I sometimes feel like, "Why me? What did I do to deserve this?"

You can also ask other people about their feelings:

Don't you sometimes feel like "Whoa, I can't believe I actually live here"?

(someone) made it

If someone used to be poor, but now they're rich and successful, you can say that they "made it".

After all those years of hard work and sacrifice, you've finally made it! I'm so happy for you!

You can also talk about the idea of "making it" in a particular field:

Do you have any tips for how to make it in the fashion industry?