Integrative Narrative
When reflecting on the “Why” I chose the Spanish major I reflect on my past as a high school senior wanting to learn more about my family traditions and overall the meaning behind the motives of why as a culture we do the things the way we do. Not wanting to be stuck doing anything in the fields of STEM motivated me to go outside the box and focus on what truly mattered to me. My culture and the motivation to learn not only about my cultural traditions but going beyond and looking at how my traditions as Mexican American are different or similar to someone else from a different part of Latin America. The idea that there was more than just traditions and true history behind my culture was something that truly motivated me to pursue a degree in Spanish Language and Hispanic cultures, looking at history from all perspectives of Latin america.
What I have come to understand in this major is that perspectives vary. What I mean by that is that, we all come from different backgrounds and history shaped the people we are today according to our regions in Latinamerica. The history behind holidays and other cultural anomalies. The use of language was a big eye opener for me as I was able to formalize my way of speaking and focus on the way my Spanish was vastly different from someone else in a different region of Latinamerica. My initial goal was to formalize my way of speaking the language and renoficing it through meaningful class discussions and through writing assignments. Throughout my years here I have noticed that my Spanish speaking capabilities have improved greatly and that they have truly shaped me into speaking more confidently and in a way that is more professional and overall meaningful.
One area that I am most particularly proud of was in my oral and composition development within the major. Being able to reinforce my language through extensive practice and class discussions and through readings that were assigned to me in my courses throughout the years at CSUMB. This was something I was particularly proud of because I found myself struggling less in class to read assigned texts and focus without losing my train of thought when thinking and speaking. I found myself listening to news and reading news articles with much more ease. Being able to understand the complexities of articles and understand the formal aspects that the Spanish language carries.
One area that I will continue to develop is the areas of interpreting and translating, and becoming more aware of the linguistic barriers I may face in the coming years. As someone who intends to pursue a career in interpreting and translating I am working on internalizing the language more in my daily interactions and overall life. Developing my understanding of the multitude of ethnic backgrounds and challenges people face as Latin americans. I will do this by pursuing a graduate education in the fields such as sociology or chicanx / Latinx studies.
What I have come to understand in this major is that perspectives vary. What I mean by that is that, we all come from different backgrounds and history shaped the people we are today according to our regions in Latinamerica. The history behind holidays and other cultural anomalies. The use of language was a big eye opener for me as I was able to formalize my way of speaking and focus on the way my Spanish was vastly different from someone else in a different region of Latinamerica. My initial goal was to formalize my way of speaking the language and renoficing it through meaningful class discussions and through writing assignments. Throughout my years here I have noticed that my Spanish speaking capabilities have improved greatly and that they have truly shaped me into speaking more confidently and in a way that is more professional and overall meaningful.
One area that I am most particularly proud of was in my oral and composition development within the major. Being able to reinforce my language through extensive practice and class discussions and through readings that were assigned to me in my courses throughout the years at CSUMB. This was something I was particularly proud of because I found myself struggling less in class to read assigned texts and focus without losing my train of thought when thinking and speaking. I found myself listening to news and reading news articles with much more ease. Being able to understand the complexities of articles and understand the formal aspects that the Spanish language carries.
One area that I will continue to develop is the areas of interpreting and translating, and becoming more aware of the linguistic barriers I may face in the coming years. As someone who intends to pursue a career in interpreting and translating I am working on internalizing the language more in my daily interactions and overall life. Developing my understanding of the multitude of ethnic backgrounds and challenges people face as Latin americans. I will do this by pursuing a graduate education in the fields such as sociology or chicanx / Latinx studies.