When I first got to CSUMB, I was absolutely sure of one thing: I was going to study abroad. In high school, my Spanish teacher always talked to us about when she lived in Granada, Spain and all of the wonderful adventures that she had. I wanted to have that same experience; however, I planned on studying Collaborative Health and Human Services because I wanted to be able to create my own non-profit organization. I met with my academic advisor and they told me that the only way that I could study abroad was if I left before I started my 3 semester long internship. So that’s what I did. Except there was one problem...what was I going to study? Then I realized how obvious is all was: I would study Spanish. I figured I would be able to improve my Spanish as a professional and have the experience I always wanted. I left thinking that I would only come back with a Spanish minor and a great experience. While I was in Spain, I found my new love: literature. It was always something that fascinated me, but I didn’t really ever imagine myself studying it because I was set on changing the world through human services. Spain was the end of my liberal arts “phase.” When I arrived back on campus, I met with my academic advisor and they told me that I was extremely close to completing the Spanish major. I realized that I didn’t just need to study what I want to do in the future, but that I had the opportunity to continue studying something that I never realized I was passionate about. When reflecting back on it, I didn’t really chose the Spanish major, but it chose me. I am so grateful because I feel like I have learned so much through it and I have grown so much. The coursework, and specifically, Capstone, have challenged me so much. However, because of it all, I feel like I can communicate myself more collegiately in Spanish. Growing up, I spoke very little Spanish at home and over time, I got worse. My friends and other family members would call me “pocha” and it made me embarrassed to speak a single word. I was losing my Spanish and it bothered me so much. The way I see it, I could have gone in two directions when people started making fun of me. 1. Completely stopped speaking this language that is a part of my Mexican culture or 2. Work on improving my skills. I chose the latter and I could not feel any prouder for what I have done. Now, I speak to my family and friends and I can notice that my Spanish is at a more collegiate level and my fluidity is in fact better than some of the people who made fun of me in the past. I hope that I continue to speak, read, and write in Spanish. I want to keep traveling the world and learning more about all of the Hispanic cultures and how beautiful it is when we all connect through a language. I want to keep learning about colloquialisms and differences in the language. I want to keep reading books and poems that I’ve never heard of. This major is honestly something that will stay with me forever.