Hispanophone- A secondary Spanish-speaker perspective

 2002 is another shifting time in my life. This was the year I walked into my very first Spanish class in college. Prior to this, I took French throughout middle and high school. French was hard (back then) and I didn't get an opportunity to speak to anyone outside of the school. Friends who spoke French didn't speak with me, nor I them. We were fearful of speaking. In college, I saw a Black woman doctor switch from English to Spanish and I knew that I wanted that. I wanted to be able to speak to a native Spanish-speaker and help them without needing a translator. I walked into Spanish one so late in my time in college a little nervous. Even more so when the teacher, a petite Mexican lady says in English with a thick accent, "This is the first and last day that I speak English." The class was uncomfortable, including myself as I have been in a class in French where she refused to speak English. My nervousness was erased as I befriended several Mexican classmates and a few Native English speakers who were majoring in Spanish. I took off in Spanish, even working on my accent as my French-language education was still embedded in me. I was advised to attempt to minor in Spanish, but I already had a minor in Biology. I took Spanish one and two, and then graduated into the outside world. 

I used Spanish here and there from graduation to chiropractic school. Once I moved to Chicago, the longer I stayed the more my usage of Spanish began to grow. Now, with meeting my husband I began to learn slang in Spanish as we would have debates on what words meant what. Once I graduated from chiropractic school, I was determined to get better with my Spanish. I pushed myself to speak more in Spanish and talk to people in Spanish. This was difficult to do because I got nervous to speak but some days were better than others. I then began to learn through my phone through my first app, Duolingo. I continued to watch TV shows in Spanish and work on reading. I added my in-laws to Facebook and began speaking to them as well as my native Spanish-speaking friends. Once I got pregnant with my son, I was even more determined for him to be able to speak Spanish and began to look up some Spanish terms in order to talk to him. Now, while his primary language is English, he does understand Spanish due to being watched by his grandma and the Spanish he learns in the house. Because I want him to fully master the Spanish-language, he has just started Spanish class in middle school. With his father who first learned Spanish growing up then English and his mother who is an English native speaker then learned Spanish he will have two different perspectives on the language.

Now, being African-American/ Black American and learning Spanish and speaking both at work, around family, and in the home is somewhat a newer concept I think. 

Now, I have increased confidence to speak and will trip on a word here and there, still. But, I can now distinguish accents with my comprehension.