Although I absolutely love my journalism classes, I will admit that my Spanish class is my favorite class to attend. Not that the people there are that enjoyable, but the language itself makes me feel proud that I’m even in the class to begin with.

I want to be a journalist the most. However, there are so many journalists in the world that I know just being a journalist won’t be enough. So I am determined to be a bilingual journalist. Learning Spanish makes me feel motivated. When I can put a sentence together in Spanish, I feel proud.

For others, I would recommend learning Spanish because there are so many opportunities to communicate with a whole different group of people. Imagine limiting yourself to only a certain language and missing out on so many conversations because you won’t learn how to listen in a different language.

Some days at my job at a sporting goods store chain, a Spanish-speaking customer will come in asking for an employee that speaks Spanish to help them. Most of the time I don’t jump to help because I am not the best at Spanish and feel like there are better options out of our employees to help.

However, I am eager to learn and eager to help. This intent is most important, I think. After helping a customer out with Spanish, these are the moments that make me happiest. When they walk out of the store, I have the biggest smile on my face.

I believe that when you feel that kind of pride in your chest and in your heart, it is a sign that activity or topic is a passion of yours. That is why I advise others to learn a different language. Although it is hard and seems impossible at times, the little moments when you may be able to string a sentence or two together are something that motivates you to keep going.

Learning Spanish is also important to me because I plan on traveling. I know there are more and more people wanting to travel. Because I plan on staying in different countries, I know that learning those languages is important. 

According to scientists and websites such as leadwithlanguage.com, learning a second language makes it easier to learn a third and fourth language. So even if I am in a country that has people speaking a language other than English or Spanish, it will be easier for me to pick up on that language.

My goal is to go to Spain soon. Here, I can solidify my Spanish-speaking skills. I have an idea that I want to eventually be an overseas coordinator. It is crucial that I am bilingual to do this. 

I love Spanish. I love the language; I love the culture, the heritage, etc. It is my passion. I advise others to at least try learning something about a language or culture. Soon, I believe a lot more people are going to connect and communicate with one another, because we will take the time to learn a language to do so.