When I first began learning Spanish in middle school, it was by obligation. At the time, there was no need for me to know any other language beside English. Everyone around me was white, and no one spoke anything other than English. It wasn’t until high school that I realized the power of knowing another language. Speaking another language allows you to communicate with entirely new communities -- to hear their problems and experience their way of life. In recent years, I have found the Spanish language to be particularly useful through service. The past few years, I have been able to utilize Spanish at a christmas toy drive in which I served as a translator for ESL community members who wanted to have gifts for their children. Later, when
