I find this very plainly displayed in my journey with Spanish vs. my journey with Latin. Spanish was a language that I was forced to take for almost six years of my life, and because of that, I quite quickly fell out of love with it. I understand now that it's a valuable asset but that does not mean I enjoyed the process. On the other hand, my journey with Latin was been so rewarding because it's a language that I'm genuinely interested in learning. I am motivated by the thought of reading a text in the language someday. I am learning for myself with no expectations for perfection, just the desire to learn the language.

As students, I think a lot of our young lives are defined by what we have and haven't learned. What will help us graduate, what will get us a good job, and oftentimes good grades are a standard. The process of taking a class is not always to learn, but to meet that standard. I'm thoroughly enjoying this reminder that yes, I have learned, and I am in a constant state of learning. Perfection is not the goal. Language is so beautiful and it's sad to see an effort die out because of a strive towards something unattainable. The growth mindset is what will help us flourish especially when it comes to language.

This is an interesting point. I'm thinking of a lot of conversations I've had that were stiff and forced-- small talk, that kind of thing. We were not actively trying to make meaning together, rather trying to get through the conversation. The conversations that I value most from my life are ones that have challenged me, made me think differently, or learn more about the person I'm speaking to. That is true communicating because we are mutually working to make meaning together.

This really resonates with me because my language learning journey has been so up and down. When I took Spanish, there was a lot of expectation from myself and my instructors for perfection. It was hard to be kind to myself and not strive for perfection and instead towards a best effort. This year I "restarted" that journey with a different language and am learning to be proud of myself for what I can do-- not what I can't do.