Caleb
About 25 years after my grandparents moved to America from Guerrero, Mexico, I was growing up with my bilingual parents here in Chicago. Although my parents were comfortable speaking to me predominantly in English, I had spent most of my childhood with my grandparents, going to their house after school, attending church with them, and eating my favorite home cooked meals.
At the start of my freshman year of high school I thought French would be a cool language to learn, which set me on the path to 4 years of not really paying attention to any of my high school French classes; right from the start of my first French class, I immediately thought that learning a new language would be way too daunting for me to even try. Before going to college, I miraculously passed the French state of biliteracy exam, “Hey, maybe I can do this!” I was motivated to keep learning French in college, and I realized that I actually really enjoy learning it, which only grew stronger when I found out that I could also help others learn French as a peer tutor and LLA with the LCLC.
Recently, after finishing my classes for the day, my grandpa picked me up from the train station. He stopped the car before parking and asked me if I ever knew that he also went to college a long time ago in Mexico. He told me he once had the opportunity to learn how to read, write and speak English, but never gave it a chance since "What am i gonna do with that in this little Mexican village?".
I realize the amazing opportunity we have to be able to learn new languages, and hope to learn many more languages in the future.