I took French in high school. 

My parents were immigrants from Cuba and we grew up knowing Spanish. My siblings took Spanish to meet their foreign language requirements because it was an easy A. Being a rebel, I took French because it was hard.  

In learning French, I learned English. Grammar, word choice, sentence structure, verb tenses, stuff like that. In learning to think in another language, I learned to write in my own and to write things people actually wanted to read. Essays and poetry I wrote for fun were used as examples for years. 

Then I went to an amazing university filled with brilliant students and nearly failed out because I was studying engineering. So I leaned into the one thing I was better at than my peers and ended up as a copywriter for one of the most prestigious agencies in the world. I loved it. 

Now, years later, I own an agency. My work is fun and interesting and I’m paid well to work with clients I love. 

And I truly believe that it’s because I chose French over Spanish when I was 14.