Thinking back all the way to when the world was first created, no matter how you believe we got here, someone created a language in order for humans to share their thoughts with each other. Eventually, with the creation of new cultures and the founding of new land, new languages were created in order for groups of people in certain areas to communicate with each other.
When I studied in Spain, I learned first-hand how important language was for learning about different people and cultures. Up until then, I never had to use Spanish in order to find my way around a city, so it was a completely new experience. My teacher at the school I was attending didn't speak English and neither did my host family, so I had to learn how to understand people and their way of life in a language that I had barely dipped my foot into.
Going to Spain truly taught me that language expedites cultural immersion, and cultural immersion is an extraordinary thing to experience. I could have traveled to the country with no previous knowledge of the Spanish language, but not only would I have gotten extremely lost, but I also wouldn't have been able to learn the fun, little details about Spanish culture that I was able to enjoy by knowing how to communicate with the native people.
Now, bilingualism definitely does not stop at Spanish and English. I speak from my own experiences with the English and Spanish languages, but there are so many different cultures around the world that contain so many different languages. It would be a blessing if I was able to learn all of them since I would be able to talk to every distinct type of person on Earth, but that may not be completely plausible.
I'm involved in an organization at my university that teaches English over FaceTime to Cambodian students, and a few of my friends in the club actually speak Khmer, the language of Cambodia, so they have the ability to translate when need be. Without having someone in the club being able to speak both Khmer and English fluently, we wouldn't be nearly as successful with teaching the kids as we are.
Becoming bilingual can seem like a huge task, but the pay off is totally worth it. As America becomes more and more diverse, whether we want to face that reality or not, speaking a language other than English can bring the people of our country together as a true community. It can also, quite frankly, debunk the myth that Spanish-speakers in America aren't trying hard enough to assimilate when really learning another language can be extremely difficult, especially when you're expected to already know the language perfectly.
It can be very easy for people to only talk to those that speak the way they do, but from that, you do not gain anything. In my opinion, life is about learning, and the best way to learn is by interacting with others. Language is the only barrier that comes between that, but luckily we are able to break that by learning more and constantly appreciating those different from us.
Being bilingual or even trilingual doesn't mean that you have to be an expert at a language or know everything about the culture. Knowing even a tiny bit of another language just shows that you care enough to be able to communicate with people that you wouldn't have been able to without attempting to understand their world a little better.
Language is the method that allows us to connect with people that are totally different from us, and I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty beautiful.
