To whom this may concern:

You may ask yourself every single day, maybe even multiple times a day, why you are doing this to yourself. Why are you buying a workbook, textbook, and character workbook every semester to continue to learn this new language that just seems to get harder every day? You hear someone speaking this language and you only understand half or less than half of it and you are sitting there wondering if you will ever even be fluent in this language that seems so much more foreign than it really is. How'd this happen? Who convinced you? Why are you still doing it? Don't worry, we're all in the same boat.

To get your foreign language minor, you need NINE of those language classes which adds up to technically four and a half semesters. That is longer than a regular bachelor degree. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?! That's what you are screaming on the inside as you are trying to find the best times to fit some of these language classes in over maymester's or trying to find a time over the two summer sessions of June or July. Now, this is all as if you have come into your first year of college with zero AP credits or testing out of any of the classes. But granted, either way, you're taking a lot of classes for this one language.

The first day of each year's next level class always seems to start the same. You're sitting there and everything seems to be okay and then in a matter of seconds, your professor is rapid firing things in their native language (your future minor) and you're sitting there looking around trying to get context clues by the way your peers are acting. You're probably thinking "How do they all know what the professor is saying and I don't have a clue?" Here are two hints: they're either fluent in it and just in those classes for the writing and grammar or they're just as lost as you. The right thing to do is fake it until you make it. Ask around when you have to and if you don't even want to do that, just fake like you know it until you actually learn it. It'll come to you in due time or you have to hit the books harder, but eventually, you'll be the one understanding and helping those that don't.

Now, you're looking at studying abroad. You're kinda thinking that the only way you'll become proficient in this language is if you just throw yourself into their culture with no way out. Really though, that's the best way to do it. Even if you aren't getting credit hours for this, you're getting credits for other classes while perfecting your execution of this "impossible" language. Depending on how long you're there, I guarantee you'll be able to understand what people are saying after a month and in two months, you'll be replying back to them better than you ever thought you'd be able to.

No matter what language it is, we are all in this together. We WILL get through this and we will all be better for it. Imagine finally being able to say you are bilingual or trilingual or however many languages you know. Not a lot of people are able to say that. And until that day, we'll be grinding until we get there.

Sincerely,

劉易斯西蒙森