Living a bilingual life is just different. I really don’t know how else to put it. When I’m in my one-on-one meetings with students of Spanish for Black Girls, I’m always thinking to myself: ‘Queen. Do you know the gift you’re about to flaunt everywhere like a new wardrobe in a few months for the rest of your life?’ All the time. I get really excited seeing them come into their own intonation and pace of this language that just flows as they get closer to fluency. (I’m smiling right now just thinking about it.) Working with each student does remind me how challenging it is to unlearn almost decades of English to get a conversational grasp on Spanish. It reminds me of how difficult it must be to learn how to tap into their superpower.
Top Reasons for Learning Spanish
Yes. Being able to speak Spanish is a superpower–and it’s been around you the entire time. Most of us just have never tapped into what was handed our ways since we were in small Kindergarten classrooms to huge lecture halls in college and failed to retain it. Some people only learn Spanish for the sake of passing a class. (Pass the Kleenex. Mi corazón está rompiéndose.) Anyone can want to learn it, but it takes a special person to really take this knowledge of another language that most of the world speaks to a new level within themselves and with others.
Spanish Speakers Are Very Influential
You have to want to become more than just ‘proficient’ to really see and feel the benefits of knowing Spanish that have nothing to do with travel or business. Communication is everything. I always tell the many people who are amazed that I can speak Spanish like a true native that the best gift is having genuine conversations about life with people from one of the countries that speak the language. You realize that the human connection truly comes out between you and the other person once you step into their world.
The Power of Speaking Two Languages
Learning Spanish allows you to be proactive with your intelligence at a moment’s notice. It’s almost like changing into an alternate universe where everything is the same, but all speech, including yours, is synced to a Spanish audio feed that you can communicate in as well. This immersive experience is what I want for all my students taking Spanish for Black Girls. I want them to have the confidence to flex this superpower anywhere knowing that they can communicate with a complete stranger in their city or another part of the world. Being bilingual, for anyone else, is a worthwhile attribute to have. For Black women like you and me, it’s an invaluable chance to elevate ourselves professionally and personally while broadening our horizons with no need of a translator.
