Many would agree that learning a second language as an adult is a challenge. There are new words to learn, new sentence structures to use and new verb forms that are not used in the English language. It takes so much more time and energy to learn a language as an adult than as a child. Today there are TV programs that encourage children to learn new languages, exposing kids to the vocabulary of another language and some new culture. But this can’t be a child’s only source for really learning another language.

I was slightly older than the generation of kids who were exposed to a foreign language early in life through shows like “Dora the Explorer” and “Ni Hao, Kai-Lan.” I didn’t experience a language other than English until much later, when my family decided to move from Minnesota to North Carolina when I was in middle school.

The challenge of learning Spanish helped me with moving across the country. Moving to a new place is always difficult, especially in the middle of the school year. On top of that, not knowing anyone in the place you moved to can make you start to feel low. Learning Spanish was something I could do to keep my mind strong and to better myself — to keep moving forward.

Learning a new language is like mental weightlifting: It’s strenuous and, at times, exhausting. I’m sure if a person was examined with an MRI while practicing a new language, it would light up like a Christmas tree. I’m equally convinced that mental exercise is as good for a person’s mood as physical exercise. Look at how Sherlock Holmes mopes when he doesn’t have a case. I was the same way; I needed something to exercise my mind, and I enjoyed the challenge of learning a new language.

I gave up Spanish for a while after high school. I focused on the general subjects in college and then came to a standstill. I asked myself “What should I do next?” The science courses I had taken were challenging, but not in a way that I particularly enjoyed. I’ve always loved literature, but there was still something missing. I had to think back to what had satisfied me before. A foreign language was the obvious answer. I’ll admit that I dabbled in French (which I may still learn in the future), but I soon returned to Spanish.

Part of my reasoning for choosing Spanish was where I live now. I had to look at my current surroundings — this is where I decided to live. I see an opportunity to help people who, like me, came from somewhere else with the added challenge of English being a second language. Learning a language has come full circle for me. Not only did Spanish help me when I first moved here, but I can use Spanish to help others who have chosen to make North Carolina their home.