When I lived in Virginia, my kindergarten teacher tried to write me off as mentally handicapped. She acknowledged my aptitude in mathematics and sciences, but I would hardly ever speak. I was held back twice because of this. My problem was not being handicapped. I just didn't know English.
A few years later, I moved to Nebraska. Since I couldn't speak the language, I had to go to a special class after school for children my age to learn English. At that class, I met people who spoke all sorts of other languages; more than I ever imagined. I focused hard to learn the language. My parents helped by teaching me sciences in English. My few friends who could understand me kept helping me. By age 10, I could call myself fluent in English. I felt a bolt go through me as the opportunities showed their faces. Kids stopped making fun of me for my language and accent, but most importantly, I began to remember the special class and what it had done for me. More than just English, it showed me how many languages there are just in my town. So I decided that when I meet someone of a certain background, I would learn at least the basics of their language.
Years later, I began traveling and making friends around the world. Learning languages became a part of my lifestyle. Now, I'm fluent in Hindi, Urdu, Spanish, and English; functionally conversational in Italian, German, and Japanese; and emergent in French, Portuguese, and Korean. The way I talk, act and feel in one language is different from me in another. I get joy out of it, and when I talk to a native speaker, their eyes light up. Nelson Mandela was right. "Talk to a man in a language he knows, that goes to his head. Talk to a man in his language, that goes to his heart." I later experienced it for myself. Last summer, when I was in India, a white American man asked me for directions in nearly perfect Hindi. I stood there smiling. Did he learn out of respect? Enthusiasm for languages? Both? He made my day just for speaking my language. He gave back to me. America taught me English, and in return, I met an American who learned Hindi to completion. Now knew what it felt like to return the favor, linguistically speaking. Now, I deliberately surround myself with people who speak at least one language I do not know, and attempt to "exchange languages" with them. When I continue my studies through college, travel the world, and start my company, the diversity of my circle will be key to keep me going. This is why I have been working with my school district to make a friendlier and more functional language curriculum through my senior year. And in university, I hope I can do the same in that town, on the middle school, high school and collegiate levels.
