I have had plenty of ups and downs being a Spanish major and I honestly had no idea what to expect as an incoming freshman. The first year I knew I would do all right in the major knowing people in my classes were at my same level. However, I was stressed thinking there were too many classes I had to take and not enough time to finish. Throughout my college career I struggled in some classes, and others I excelled in. I had some really great classes, and some that I was not too fond of, but mostly dependent on the professor I had.

One of my most memorable classes was Spanish 240, where my professor would bring cookies to big tests and oral presentation days that really helped and lightened the mood. There was my Spanish 312 class where the professor was hilarious and would be super engaging, which is always helpful in understanding the material better and practicing speaking in general. There were a few others like Latin American Cinema, where I enjoyed the movies we watched and discussions we had. This class was one where I could understand some of the cultural aspects of the major. I enjoyed learning about the culture where visuals were involved. It made it more interesting for me to learn about and more engaged. Another class like this was my Spanish 320 literature class. It was very entertaining and insightful about the history of the culture and I was intrigued by the new information I obtained.

My time at the Holyoke Tutorial has made me appreciate the Spanish culture so much. I got to experience the different foods, which were delicious, and in general the students I got to know and help out were memorable. I will never forget the connections I made with the students. The environment was so welcoming and everyone was there to not only help out the students, but also get to know them and it made me what to go there every week. They made me feel right at home and I got to meet all the staff that treated me like I have been there for so long. This experience has goaded me to try harder to learn the language as well as engage more in the major as well. I appreciate the culture more than I had before, going into the Holyoke community.

Not only have Spanish classes helped, but also my Education minor classes have as well for what I want to be in the future. I have been going into a classroom setting this semester in Greenfield at Newton Elementary School. The teacher prior to coming had informed me that one student speaks only Spanish and that I will be a great help to him when I come to the classroom. I think this has been a great opportunity for me to use everything I know from this major and apply it to this real world situation. This has helped my conversational Spanish as well as my confidence with Spanish in general. The student was very bright and excited to be there, which helped me practice and assist the student with every literacy activity. Another class has stuck with me and I took it last year fall semester. Education 210: Diversity in Education was one of my favorite classes because it talked not just about statistics, but more in depth on how students overcome their stereotypes and how to help them achieve that without making them feel like “a charity case” and there were great videos and activities we did to help us understand these types of concepts better. I learned a lot from that class and it has given me more insight on what I should do in the future and I could also make connections to my major because we did talk about the Latino culture in some of our lessons.

I have learned a lot about myself since I became a Spanish major. I have had my fair share of times where I felt like this major wasn’t for me. I have been told I’m not good enough for this major and I have struggled in some classes. However, every class that I have had this issue with, I have pulled through with good grades. There are always going to be times where I feel like I am bad at Spanish and that I don’t understand it as well as others. But what this has taught me is that I have never given up on myself. I have always found a way to power through. I am a really hard worker and I don’t let anyone tell me otherwise. I get the grades I get for being passionate and willing to learn more. I think that this major has made me a more driven person because I am challenged having English as my first language. I love having the ability to communicate in another language and I feel that this is how I have “grown into” this major.