It was all I could do not to burst into tears....I couldn't understand it all!
It was Spanish class and my new teacher speaks Spanish in class a lot more than my last teacher did. Sometimes I feel a little lost. I miss my old Spanish teacher! The way she explained the Spanish vocabulary and grammar made a lot more sense to me than my new teacher does! And I miss my Spanish tutor! It was so fun and exciting learning a new language this spring & summer semester. But this fall is different.
Then I thought about one of the things that was making it hard: I was comparing myself to my other classmates. In
my spring & summer Spanish classes I was at the top of my class and
other students would ask me to study with them to help them out. I loved helping others! I loved being one of the best. And now I've lost that. And
so it's not just about learning a new language being difficult, it's sad to no longer be the
student who can help others. Maybe I was getting a little bit of my identity out of being one of the "good students". Oops! I know that sounds so selfish and immature, but it honestly hurt. I feel less than my classmates. I feel less than my Spanish-speaking friends who speak English to me instead of Spanish.
Yet through this, I'm learning some tough lessons that can actually be applied to every area of life. So I'm going to share these lessons - just in case anyone else needs some encouraging as well.
- Comparing yourself to others isn't smart.
- Growth and learning of any kind takes hard work and commitment - it does NOT come naturally.
- Comparing yourself to those who do better than you is discouraging. The only person you can compare yourself with is who you were a couple weeks ago. Ask yourself the question: "Have I grown in the last few weeks?"
- Get over your pride and don't be afraid to ask others for help.
- Learning anything takes diligence and consistency. You can't just go over something once or twice a week. You have to be in it daily if you're serious about learning.
