When I was in 5th grade my Dad bought us a computer. With that computer came an Encarta encyclopedia CD-ROM that had lots of interactive activities with it. There were geographic features on it, not necessarily games, but you could go into a program that had every language listed and learn how to say hello, goodbye, count 1-10, and a proverb in each language. The coolest part was the audio feature that allowed you to listen to the pronunciation. So as my mom was cooking dinner each night I would run back and forth up the steps from the computer in the basement yelling numbers and muddled phrases at her in Finnish, Thai, Tagalog, and whatever else I could memorize.
As I got a little older, I began to rent videos and books from the library about other countries. I used to plan pretend trips to other countries and think about how much we could cram into each day. And then I got to the end of the 7th grade where our teachers could recommend us for Spanish I class in 8th grade if we were advanced enough not to need reading class. I was not recommended and I cried hysterically to my mom when I came home from school. I HAD to take Spanish. I had to learn this language and about the people in all those other countries so I could go there some day. So my mom wrote a letter, and all the teachers and the guidance counselors still said no. But, they don't know my mother. So eventually, I think so we would just leave them alone for the summer they signed me up.
I had Spanish I class 4th period in 8th grade. On the first day of class every one got "Spanish names" but I learned that my name was the same, just pronounced different. I remember telling my mom I was already Spanish, I felt like I was destined to be in that class. The entire walk home from the bus stop I studied the list of vocabulary my teacher had taught us (all 5 words) so when I walked in the house I shouted "Hola! Como estas?!" Let's be frank though, I sucked at Spanish I. I got a C. It was hard! But oh my God, did I LOVE it. I called my grandparents every time I learned new vocabulary, and I checked out books on Mexico, Spanish, Venezuela, I asked for the CDs we listened to in class for Christmas. I was in love. I was a Spanish nerd.
I took Spanish every year of high school, including AP Spanish my senior year. My love of language was strong. I even took German I my junior year and was fascinated learning about Germans and their culture. I was never amazing at grammar, or memorizing vocabulary, and I essentially skipped over Spanish III because of a long-term substitute we got stuck with. I was lucky to have some very nice friends who may have sat next to me and pretended to ignore my wandering eyes. But I felt such a passion for languages, cultures, people of other countries, geography, and traveling- and I think my teachers knew this so they let me skid by.
I always had a strong interest in history, and decided to major in it in college. I'm not sure why I ignored my passion for Spanish, because after 1 semester of history I changed my major to Spanish, the best decision of my life. Something clicked then. Suddenly, all the boring grammar exercises I had endured and the vocabulary flash cards I had made seemed to pay off. My brain didn't have to take everything and translate it like a robot- it was as if I finally felt the language, as cheesy as it sounds. It led me to study abroad in Salamanca, Spain for a semester my junior year.
I won't talk much specifically about my time abroad right now because putting it in words simply does not do it justice. College is a time when you explore your values, your morals, who you are and who you want to be. Traveling abroad helped me do just that, and solidified my love of this world and the people in it. When I returned, I continued down my path to become a high school Spanish teacher and was successful with that until I realized I couldn't do that as my career. I can no longer ignore my passion for travel and the world and am taking the route of College Student Affairs to allow me to do this.
