The Best Decision I've Ever Made--The Best Advice You Could Ever Take

One of the best decisions I have ever made was in middle school. Although many say that middle school really doesn't matter once you get to high school since colleges only look at your high school grades, what they may not remember is that the decisions you make in middle school really have an impact on how successful you are later in life.

I was in seventh grade, and it was finally time to find out what classes our teachers thought would be best for us to take in eighth grade based on our ITBS scores. The two classes being considered were math and Spanish, and Spanish was required in eighth grade at my school.

I guess I wasn't too surprised to find out that, of the three math classes—Pre-Algebra, Algebra Prep, and Algebra—I was average and put into Algebra Prep. I had never been good at math and had never expected to be put into the highest level. But when I saw what Spanish class my teachers had recommended for me, I was beyond horrified.

It was recommended that I take Introduction to Spanish, and not Spanish I, based on how well I performed on my ITBS tests. I just could not believe it. I felt so stupid, and it seemed like all of my friends had been put into the higher level Spanish class. I refused to feel stupid and be put into the lowest level class. So, instead of following my teachers’ advice, I signed up for Spanish I instead.

To my surprise, it may just be the best decision I have ever made. When my teachers did not believe in me (so to speak), I believed in myself and I took on the challenge. Spanish actually turned out to be one of my best subjects, and I received A’s on just about every assignment, quiz, and test that I took. I absolutely loved learning Spanish and I cannot imagine how different my experience may have been if I had taken Intro to Spanish instead of Spanish I.  My Spanish teacher was absolutely wonderful (even though I seemed to be the only one to think so) and I have learned more in that one year of Spanish than I have in any other Spanish class I have taken since. I don’t know if it was because of my teacher or because of my hard work and motivation, but I know for a fact that it was the best decision ever made.

Spanish continues to be my best subject. Since eighth grade, I have received an A or A+ as my final grade in the class in every Spanish class I have ever taken. Spanish comes very easily to me and it is so useful in life, not just sitting in a classroom receiving grades. After taking three years of Spanish, I had the opportunity to visit my sister in Spain since she was there studying abroad to experience another country and improve her Spanish. While I was there, I was able to use my Spanish with my sister, her host family, her friends, and the people of Spain in general. In fact, very few people in Spain, if any, spoke English to us, even though we were clearly tourists. It was as if they expected everyone to know their language, and they sure were not willing to make an effort to communicate with us in anything besides Spanish.

I had another opportunity to practice my Spanish when my sister’s friend from Spain came to visit our family in the United States. Just from speaking Spanish to Blanca for as little as two weeks, my Spanish improved immensely and it was so fun to be able to communicate to someone in another language. Plus, I knew I was doing her a favor because she did not know that many words in English and it was a struggle for her to communicate to the rest of our family, who did not speak Spanish.

Now , in my fourth year of taking a Spanish class, I still continue to improve and I have never regretted taking that Spanish I class in middle school that was supposed to be “too challenging” for me. As I said, it was the best decision I have ever made. And the occasions listed above where not the only times where Spanish came in handy; I just used them as examples. There have been so many times and places where it has been useful to be able to understand and speak Spanish, and I plan to continue Spanish in college and maybe study abroad like my sister did. I cannot stress enough the importance of challenging yourself and learning another language. It will be the best thing you ever did and, had I not followed my gut and had I taken the class recommended for me, who knows how bad my Spanish would be today. 

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