Since my first year of high school, Spanish class has been the ball and chain attached to my ankle that has constantly brought down my grade point average. International Baccalaureate students are required to take a language all four years, so early on I knew that I was in for a treat. In freshman year, I was able to get by a little bit easier with a more lenient teacher that would accommodate with my lack of studying. Making up assignments, retaking quizzes, anything to try and slide in those extra points. Sophomore year however, I just barely made ends meet, barely grasping a B or an A at the end of the quarter. In Junior year, I got my first C. It was crushing for me to receive the grade. For six years, I had avoided making a C on my report card, only to be brought down by my Spanish class after so much hard work and effort in all my other subjects. Even so, I wasn’t going to quit and let that hard work go to waste on top of all of the hard work I would have ahead of me. Instead of just struggling along, taking my 70’s on tests and quizzes and shrugging my shoulders, I went to every early morning session that my parents would drive me to. I stayed after class to ask a question I had about the previous homework. I even downloaded an app this year to encourage me to practice speaking and listening to Spanish on a regular basis, even when I didn’t particularly want to. My grades improved little by little, and during my senior year my Spanish teachers have verbalized their admiration for my perseverance, my cheerful spirit, and my commitment to the language. All in Spanish of course.
