A passion for languages.

I read somewhere in Oprah.com (here I go again, with Oprah haha) on finding who you really are, that you should stop and think about the things that give you joy, catch your interest or stayed in your mind. These snippets should be able to guide you in choosing/deciding what you are going to be doing with your life.

p/s: I very much would like to link that article here but it's already late & I'm too lazy to go snooping around there for it.

Well, what really stood out for me, in my memories from high school till grad school, were the language classes that I took, voluntarily or not.

In high school, from Form 1 till Form 3, it was compulsory for all students (well, my batch anyway) to study Arabic. My mother had learned it herself so I figured I would really fly through the class. Unfortunately, I had some bad interactions (my faults entirely) with one of the teachers who taught us Arabic and I grew weary of the subject. Luckily, we didn't have to take Arabic in our PMR exam or I would've flunked it. Then, in Form 4, we get to choose an elective subject for SPM and Arabic was one of them. Needless to say, I stirred far away from that subject, much to my mother's disappointment.

Then, during my 2nd year in matriculation, one of the Chinese society clubs offered Mandarin classes for free. One of my friend, a Chinese Sarawakian was going to teach in that class and she asked me if I would like to join her. Since Mandarin was used quite extensively amongst Malaysian Chinese (please correct me if I'm wrong :p) I thought it would be great to learn it. I was really fascinated with the fact that they didn't only teach Mandarin, they also taught us about 'service above self'. This phrase stuck with me because it is the single drive behind everything they do. This particular society club would hold study-groups, one-on-one tutoring, hold charity meetings and other stuffs that really reflects 'service above self'. However, I didn't finish the class because I got stuck when it came to writing Chinese characters. Man, even the slightest little dash, mistakenly placed would lead to chaos in the meaning of the word you are writing. Every stroke has its own place and sequence. You can't just write down the word the way you want. And this was my downfall in Japanese class as well.

What?!! Japanese class? Yes, it was for an elective 2 credit hours subject during undergrads. While most of my friends choose Arabic, I decided that I want to learn Japanese. I loved it! I love the words, the pronunciation, their culture. I was quite alright when we were just learning about hiragana; the way to write the characters, how to say them. But when we advanced to kanji, that's when I flopped. It was really hard, to memorize the exact spot to stroke a dash, the correct sequence when writing. I mean, it was deja vu all over again. Learning it in Mandarin class was hard enough but learning it in Japanese class? I got all mixed up, hehe. Though I have to say that I scored quite well in that subject.

And after watching all the Spanish soap-dramas on TV; Mis Tres Hermanas, La Usur Padora, Yo Soy Betty La fey and etc, I think I have grasped a few words here and there. Not forgetting Handy Manny on Disney Channel. He's the handy man with the talking tools who is also a Mexican who speaks English. He incorporates some Spanish words here and there during the show.

So, where does all these leave me? Am I destined to be a multi-lingual speaker who would do great one day? Should I take one particular language seriously and take it to the next level? Maybe I'll just stick to English and finish the course I'll be taking first.