When I realize that I have a knack for something, I tend to pursue that 'something' more. For example, I love singing and found I was pretty good, so I joined the choir in high school and an acappella group in college, took voice lessons, and auditioned for a couple of vocal music programs in high school. I also enjoy writing, and although it's not my forte, I think I'm pretty decent. I've been journaling since I was about six and one of the main reasons why I started this blog was to hone my writing skills. During my freshman year of high school, I realized that I was also decent at Spanish. I started at the basic level, Spanish I. The only words and phrases I knew were what every American should know:
- Hola
- Gracias
- De nada
- Buenos días
- Buenas tardes
- Buenas noches
- Cómo está
- Uno, dos, tres
- Por favor
- Sí, no
- Agua
I tried to be daring and make very small talk with our Ecuadorian neighbors every time I saw them. "Hola, cómo está usted?" I'd ask the mother, who was always so open and friendly. Sometimes she'd try to ask or tell me something else, assuming I could speak the language fluently, but I'd have no idea what she was saying, so from them on (until I became more confident), I tried to avoid her.
From freshman through senior year of high school I really enjoyed my Spanish classes, and I loved all of the teachers. What made my learning experience even better was that I knew....well, believed that Spanish was more useful and meaningful than any of my other classes. Biology, History, Chemistry, Mathematics, English, etc. are all important subjects, no doubt, and we all to some extent will be using them in the future, but I can come up with a plethora of reasons why Spanish is a more useful, worthwhile, and advantageous subject to learn, especially in this day and age.
Ready? Here a just a few:
· Speaking a second language, especially Spanish, can put you ahead on the job market. There are many employers nowadays looking for people who can speak another language.
· Latinos are the largest racial minority in the U.S., and growing.
· Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world (with over 400 million speakers), and the 2nd in the U.S. (1st in some states).
· There are more than 25 countries where Spanish is the dominating language.
· Bilinguals are smarter than unilinguals! Studies show that speaking a second language improves cognitive skills and works against dementia as you grow older.
· It’s a great way to meet new people.
· It will improve your cultural understanding and sensitivity
· It’s one of the easiest to learn of the most spoken languages in the world
· Spanish paves the way to learning other languages, especially the Romance languages, such as French, Italian, and Portuguese
· It’s a beautiful language!
Why did I choose to study Spanish in college?
One of my close friends from high school who is currently an undergrad here too (she’s also my mentor, confidant, and amazing person I know who has been there for me since I was in 9th grade) encouraged me to major in something that I’m truly interested in while taking the required pre-medical classes. Most pre-meds go for Biology, Chemistry, or other science-related majors, but medical schools actually now prefer students who diverge from this trend. I mean, if someone is genuinely interested in Biology, for example, then by all means, they should major in just that. When I applied to Cornell I applied to the College of Human Ecology and chose to major in Human Biology, Health, and Society (HBHS). I was accepted into this major, but it was about a month later that I decided to change it to Spanish. The more I spoke with my friend the more I realized how much I wanted to immerse myself in the Spanish curriculum at Cornell.
Pursuing my interest in Spanish
My one-on-one classroom in Antigua, Guatemala
I furthered my interests in the language and culture by going abroad to Guatemala last summer and Costa Rica three years ago (2009), joining clubs and organizations on campus (I checked out the Spanish Debate Club, but that was intimidating because everyone else was a native speaker), watching telenovelas on YouTube and movies on Netflix, skyping with a few close friends from Guatemala, Peru, and Mexico, getting a penpal from Argentina, applying to live in the Spanish language house on campus, and more. My desire to improve my fluency in the language and understanding of Hispanic culture was unquenchable.I plan to go back abroad over winter break to Guatemala, next summer perhaps to Bolivia, and study in Peru my junior year for the spring semester. This could all change or maybe not even happen, but there’s nothing wrong with dreaming :)
