We all know the feeling when you're in a Spanish or French or German class and your professor is just spitting off words in said language and you have no idea what they are saying. It is extremely hard to learn a different language when you are an adult. This is because we have so many different things going around in our head all at once, our brain cannot take in as much information as a toddler or child would. Even for people who are bi/trilingual or just good at languages it is extremely difficult and annoying to learn a new language.

This semester I go from my Advanced Spanish class where I can say whatever I want and think in Spanish, straight to my basic German class where I can only say colors, numbers and basic things. My German professor sees my frustration every time I want to be able to communicate with her, but cannot because I don't know the words, or the grammar for that matter (verb always has to come second and anything else is free play, but a dative noun must come after a certain preposition?) But even with all these frustrations and semi-mental breakdowns when I don't know what to say or do, I still come back to learn more because the benefits that will come once everything I've learned starts to click will outweigh all the detriments.

Language is important because it opens up doors that normally many people wouldn't be able to open. For example, by speaking Spanish you are able to talk to people from over 20 countries from around the world with different cultures, societies and views on life. How amazing is that? I love meeting new people and finding out where they are from and asking about their society and culture. It is just so interesting.

Language is also very personal. Once while I was working, a customer came into my store who only spoke Spanish. None of my co-workers spoke Spanish, so they sent her to me. Within seconds, the quiet woman who was just trying to order her drink became jubilant and we started to have a conversation. I learned where she was from, her name and many other personal details about her. From that one conversation, she came back, again and again, to see and talk to me. It opens up the wall disconnecting us from one another and lets us come together to be one. I truly believe that if everyone was bi/trilingual it would help our society to evolve into something great instead of devolve like we are seeing it do currently.

There is so much about language that is amazing and can help us in our lives. Just remember, don't discount the powers of learning a new language.