Reflective Essay About My Second Language

Being judged is never fun, especially when you are in public. It is something that I hate looking back to because I was really hurt. I wish it never happened, but it did. I felt dejected at first, but after a while I snapped out of it. Let me tell you the one memory that involved literacy. The one time a man insulted me in a store because I did not speak my second language very well last year. First, let me tell you about my background. I was born here in Dallas, but my parents are from Ethiopia. My mother wanted my first language to be English, so I would not struggle in school, but my father had another agenda. Although he also wanted me to learn English first, he was determined to teach me Amharic as well, the national language spoken in Ethiopia. He taught me how to speak, read, and write Amharic. After a couple of months, I became fluent in the language. Although I was fluent in Amharic, I never really spoke it much. I only spoke it to my parents, but even then they would mostly speak English to me. It was not until I went to Ethiopia about twelve years ago that I really used the language. I was seven years old when I went and spoke nothing but Amharic there, but that all changed when we came back. I stopped speaking Amharic completely. I stopped because there was no one I spoke the …show more content…
I am Ethiopian and I was born in America and there is no shame in that. I may not speak Amharic very well, but that does not define if I am a true Ethiopian or not. I love everything about my country. I embrace everything my beautiful culture has to offer. A person who was not true to their culture would be ashamed and have hatred for their country, but that is not me. The man tried to hurt me and judge me by saying that I am not lover of my culture all because I do not speak Amharic fluently, but I know that no one can tell me who I am, a true Ethiopian. I know for a fact that I am true Ethiopian and no one can tell me