When you're a sophomore, making your schedule for your next year, there are so many classes that you want to take with only so many slots to fill. The possibilities seem more than endless, and you are faced with this dilemma over what you want to take, what you need to take and what you really should take for your future. In order to solve this problem, many students elect to stop taking a foreign language and add an additional science class or career class. They are sick of learning all of this vocab and grammar and would rather just stop, so I am going to tell you right now that I completely understand this.

Last year, around this time on the first round of schedules, I crossed out French IV Honors and added AP Computer Science because it was what my friends were doing and what I thought was right at that moment. As soon as I turned it in, though, I knew that I was wrong. I have always loved the study of foreign cultures, and French had given me this opportunity. By stopping myself from studying the language further, I would no longer be doing something that I truly enjoyed.

Now, more than halfway through my junior year of high school, it's clear to me that continuing in French was definitely the right option. Every day when I walk into French after AP Calculus BC and before AP Physics, I am thankful that I chose to continue to do something that I loved instead of throwing myself into a course that I probably would not have enjoyed. The class is small, given that most people dropped out, but it is a great environment to destress between classes.

Yes, learning another language is obviously a lot of work, but you are also learning a new culture and different way of life. One thing that is completely different about the fourth year of a language is that it is almost entirely culture-based rather than just being vocabulary and grammar intensive. The new vocabulary comes mixed in with the culture and feels more applicable than just learning how to describe your family members again. Instead, you are learning about how to have a conversation about the government, history or immigration.

Another thing I have noticed when continuing into French this year is that with every activity that we do in class, I understand a little more of the language. In past years, it was hard for me to notice any improvements in my French, but this year, everything is so different that it is nearly impossible to pretend you are not improving.

So please continue taking your foreign language, whether it be Chinese, Spanish, French or German. Yes, quitting may seem easier, but I can promise you that sticking with the course will pay off in ways you can only begin to imagine.