Indecisiveness has always been prevalent in my life. If I’m being honest, asking me to make any decision is like pulling teeth. If it’s about making a decision for myself and another person, I ask what they prefer (it’s the people pleaser in me, what can I say?). This situation extended itself into my interests/hobbies and, by proxy, my academic career. I mostly focused on volleyball throughout my teen years, never giving much thought to what my future as a university student would hold. Abruptly, the pandemic shut down any dreams of me finishing out high school playing volleyball. Time flew by and I was suddenly a senior who needed to define what their plan was. Naturally, I panicked because I had to make some pretty big choices I wasn’t mentally prepared for. I chose to confide in my parents about my unease and, at that point, my mom suggested I could explore public relations as an option. Her reasoning was that I enjoy writing and I’m good at connecting with others and public speaking.
It made sense to me, so I went all in. I even applied to Sagrado, thinking that it would be a great choice, given how well-renowned their Communications program is. At the end of the day, though, I opted to study at the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras. I was a part of the Faculty of Communication and Information (FaCI) with a major in Public Relations and Publicity. While I did do some research before making my final choice, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Please do not make the same mistake I did, readers; be thorough in your investigations regarding what you’ll study. I didn’t feel engaged by the material and, by my second semester, I was fully questioning whether I really wanted to continue my career in the Communications field. While I was able to meet some great people and maintain friendships with them, the FaCI and I simply weren’t meant to be.
Soon, it was time to make my schedule for my first semester of second year. I figured that I would pick up something extra to try and have a little fun, so I signed up for the first part of Intensive Portuguese. A hobby I picked up early on during the pandemic was taking Portuguese lessons daily using Duolingo. I started because I listened to some songs by Pabllo Vittar, Anitta, Luisa Sonza, and others, and became curious about what it would be like. I even managed to get to a six-month streak taking at least one lesson daily. That came to a halt one day for a reason I can’t remember, and I felt the desire to restart my lessons, but on an academic level this time. I’m so happy I did. At first, it was a bit more difficult than I expected because I was used to the Brazilian Portuguese Duolingo offers, and my main professor was from Portugal. Soon, I got used to it and met classmates that I still take classes with to this day. I even made a friend who I consider to be one of the people closest to me.
The engagement I felt during those classes was far greater than anything I ever experienced with my major’s courses. I knew that this was what I wanted to pursue for now, even if it was a risky move in terms of the future. Trading off a career in the ever-prevalent Communications field in favor of Foreign Languages? I know I will have to work very hard to get to a proficiency level that will get me a good job, but it doesn’t matter. I found a love for the study of languages, and I was ready to make the change. And so, pretty late in the second semester of my second year, I officially made the big decision to switch faculties and majors. It was a bit messy, since I had to pay extra because I missed the deadline to request the transfer properly, and later had to go talk to someone to confirm everything was sorted out and the transfer was processed correctly.
But I digress. I’m officially in my third year now, even if it’s my first semester as a Foreign Languages major, with a focus on Portuguese and German. Because it’s my third Portuguese semester, I only take the classes twice a week and it’s nowhere near as intense as the Monday-Friday classes I had to pull for the first two semesters. However, German has been a different story. As of writing this, I’ve taken three tests already and it’s definitely been an experience. As in, it’s been a fight between the material and I, and I can’t say that I’m winning… That’s just part of the experience of learning new languages: embarrassment from making mistakes is a regular occurrence. What matters is that we learn and grow from those mistakes, becoming more proficient in what we learn, even if it’s at a snail’s pace.
By making the change I did, I realize that I’ve probably set myself back by at least a year, and I’m okay with that. The extra time will have been worth it, because I’ve found something I love and am more than content with. It definitely gets frustrating at times, as do most things. But I will pull through, reader. I’m happy with what I study and can’t wait to see what my future holds. Who knows? Maybe I’ll work as a translator for the government. Or I could end up translating films and series for an international audience. We’ll just have to wait and see…