You know, there’s a reason that I have a whole list devoted to things I want to do in my life, and not a single line devoted to regrets.  It’s really all in how you perceive the world. I choose to understand those things that I wish I had done instead as things that I have yet to do.

That definitely applies to learning languages, which is something I wish I had devoted more energy to when I was younger.  I mean, sure, yeah, I took French in high school for a couple years, but that doesn’t really count.  It was only a half-hearted attempt at something I was sure that I wasn’t talented enough to do.  Despite secretly envying anyone and everyone who was multi-lingual, I convinced myself that learning languages wasn’t my thing.  And I dropped it, for a good decade and a half.

Flash forward to now.  I am now able to communicate in a foreign language at a level (though still far from perfect) that I used to only dream of.  But still, I can’t help but wonder if the whole struggle of learning German would have been lessened had I not given up on learning languages so early in life.  If I hadn’t had to learn as an adult the difference between direct and indirect objects; the concept of genitive; the difference between active and passive sentences; that making mistakes is the quickest way to learn; that languages open you up to a whole new world…  If only.

But you know what?  I’m convinced that having learned German now is the perfect stepping stone to learning other languages in the future.  So becoming a multi-lingual goddess has been transferred to my list of things I have yet to do (see no. 42 on my Life List), and I no longer have any regrets.

—

This post is inspired by the 30 Days of Truth over at In the Violet Hour.