SOUND: (fade in) “La Vie En Rose” trumpet cover by anonymous Susquehanna University student
There will always be a part of me that loves languages. Language is just expression for me. Sometimes, I feel like I can express a feeling in one language more than others. There is something about the phrase “je t’aime” that hits harder than “I love you.”
SOUND: bird sounds by MA
My name can be otherwise be known as little bird. Arabic’s little bird I suppose. But if it’s easier, my name is Jena. I might as well be your feathered friend chatting up a storm in the morning with others. My languages can vary. I should know emotions in various languages. I speak English, Cantonese Chinese, and what I hope to be beginner’s French. Except I’m more fluent in awkward and sometimes, outright blunt.
Except in the beginning, I hated the Language Arts. There is no other way to describe how much I disliked having to read a passage and find the meaning in it. Why would I waste my time analyzing texts that I will forget when I had math? Yes, math. Math is a memorized formula, and in a sense, a whole language on its own. It was universal for everyone. These numbers, symbols, and unnecessary letters probably could be found on papers all over the world.
I find it kind of funny these days when I think about how I got here. For goodness’s sake, I’m now an English major with both Publishing and Editing and Creative Writing.
SOUND: children’s classroom by abcopen
From the beginning, my elementary school put me in an English as a Second Language course also known as ESL. I forget my ESL teacher’s name. I incorrectly remembered it as Ms. Turkey. I keep wondering if it’s a common for little kids to not understand what they hear properly, or possibly, I really needed this class more than I thought. Now, I really loved Ms. Turkey. I loved her vibes, her tiny room in the library, and most of all, her special drawer full of prizes that I could choose from after we completed our little lesson with reading stories she printed out. Fun fact: smiley stamps were my favorite prize.
But it still didn’t mean I loved languages. It was overwhelming. I remember the first English word I truly understood in kindergarten was “like” even though at first, I thought I heard “light.” I remember that ESL was its form of mini torture. Somehow, I would be taking an extra test at the end of each year, which made no sense to me. Turns out, I had to take a test to pass out of a class I never signed myself up for. In fact, the first time I cried after a test was in second grade after the ESL exam that I finally passed that year.
SOUND: children’s classroom by abcopen
I got better at writing essays around fourth grade because my brain was starting to function by then. I guess that’s puberty for you? I have no idea what I wrote in my English journal entries, but I guess I did well enough to pass through those years.
SOUND: school bell ringing by YleArkisto
My love for languages began in ninth grade in my first semester’s English class. My brain gave birth to a monstrosity for one of our homework assignments. Now, the point of the assignment was to write an allegory for “Little Red Riding Hood.” I wrote about the death of a personified pig. Thrilling.
Perhaps it was the shock on everyone’s faces, but I felt free that moment. Language became freeing. I was breaking down walls. I saw how words could make people feel. They felt fear or incredulousness, but that’s alright for me. I got a reaction. My words became more than the struggle to fit in with the rest of my peers at school. My words were able to violate their thoughts for a good while, and I know they’ll never forget the poor pig. It was a brutal ending on my part.
Overall, writing has been a source of therapy for me. But also, it has been freeing to see how great it feels when I find words that reach others.
SOUND: writing pencil by moai15
After ninth grade, I challenged myself with other English courses. Again, I saw more expressions in the faces of my classmates and a more relieved expression on mine. My words carried me from a place of confusion in Kindergarten to the college essay that would bring me into Susquehanna University. And I am still in the process of learning the power of words.
SOUND: (fade out) “La Vie En Rose” trumpet cover by anonymous Susquehanna University student
But for now, see you later, 再見, et â bientôt!
Special thanks to anonymous Susquehanna University student for their trumpet cover of “La Vie En Rose.” Sound credited to MA from Motion Array and abcopen, YleArkisto, and moai15 from Freesound.