So I grew up in a household of bilingual people. My father lived in
Germany for four years, my mom is the Spanish teacher at my school, and my
sister knows Spanish and Italian fluently. Unfortunately for me, languages were never really my thing; Spanish never clicked with me.
So when it was first suggested to me by my guidance counselor that I take Korean, I thought she was crazy; I didn’t think I could handle it. But I had been surrounded by one language for so long, I figured that some change might be nice. I remember one of my first days of Korean class, I was one of the only non-heritage students. I remember being one of the only ones in the class who didn’t already speak the language, and I remember feeling like I was completely in over my head. Until my teacher pulled me over and asked me, “Alyssa, who made the English language?” I told
her that I didn’t know, and that no one man could just “make” a language. She grinned and told me, “That’s where you’re wrong. Korean was made for the poor and uneducated by one man in the 1400’s: King Sejong. If one man was able to make the language himself, and millions have been able to learn it themselves, then you should be able to too.” That’s when Korean stopped seeming like a jumble of different characters, and more like something feasible; like something I was capable of learning.
Since then, my interest in Korean has grown not just because I love the language and the culture itself, but because on that one day in eighth grade when my teacher pulled me over, she also told me something else; that Korean wasn’t just historic , but scientific. The characters of the Korean alphabet are made to mimic the shape your mouth makes when you pronounce them. I had been learning this language for weeks and not once had that occurred to me. I was shocked to know that something that appeared so simple could actually be so complex; that there was such deep meaning in something so small.
So, taking Korean has impacted me not just because it’s allowed me to learn the language and culture of another country, but because it’s taught me to look more deeply at everything in life. Sometimes a character isn’t just a character, or language just a language. It’s taught me that nothing is impossible; that you should always see things from another perspective. Its taught me that we spend so much of our lives rushing and glossing over things, that we forget to actually enjoy our lives. Now, when a friend of mine is upset or I’m arguing with my parents, I know to stop and think; to look more deeply into the argument. I’ve also learned that I’m capable of so much more than I thought.
I never considered myself a language person. I always considered myself to be the black sheep of the family; the one person who doesn’t know at least three languages. But I’ve learned that with enough grit and diligence, anyone can learn anything. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that Korean has impacted me in the most unique of ways. It’s taught me that things aren’t always as simple as they seem; it’s changed my perspective on life and my thought processes. It has taught me that something so small - one simple character in a complex language - can create such a loud sound. It’s taught me not just to think about my words, but to think about the impact they have; to think about the meaning behind them. This language has taught me things that four years of math or science never had, and it has allowed me to impact others because it has allowed me to share the impact it had on me.

<Alyssa Ferdinand／ 12th Grade Ridgefield Memorial HS Rid>