Rippling Effect

For four years now I've been taking Japanese as a foreign language at school. I took one year of Spanish when I was in eighth grade, thinking that I would continue Spanish in high school. However, the summer before freshman year, one of my close friends who was a junior at the time was taking Japanese and she convinced me to take Japanese. I didn't know that the high school I was going to go to offered Japanese. So I looked into it and I decided after thinking for sometime that I would not continue Spanish and instead take up Japanese. I didn't know anything about Japanese except their influence in World War II. My parents discouraged me from taking Japanese, one of the reasons being that it won't be useful and that Spanish would be more beneficial for me. However, my interest in the Japanese language and many other factors led me to take my first step towards a journey that I never knew would make such a profound effect on my high school career. I will never forget my first day of Japanese. My freshman year, I had Japanese in my fifth period class on odd days. Sensei which means teacher in Japanese greeted me warmly at the doorway stating something in Japanese that I had no idea what it meant at the time.


"Konnichi-wa Sensei!" Those were the first words I heard as I stepped into Japanese class as a freshman. The words that were so foreign and weird to me at that time would be life changing and second nature to me. I didn't know it but that first step I took in that classroom would start me on a rewarding journey that I have never looked back at since. The foundation of the Japanese language has given me enthusiasm in all aspects of the language has helped me to open up many doors that I wouldn't have come across if I continued Spanish from middle school. One such door that opened up to me in a very significant way was the Virginia Summer Residential Japanese Governors Academy. The impact of this program has made a rippling effect on everything else I've done ever since. Through this program I furthered my language skills, learned even more about the culture, and worked with native speaking Japanese teachers who have helped me to be a more versatile student in Japanese. The skills and insight I gained from that experience have helped me teach my fellow classmates and help my teacher. The influence that my mother language has not only opened my eyes to the power of languages but it has also broadened my horizons of different cultures. Charlemagne once said "To have another language is to possess a second soul."