Finding My Voice

In fourth grade, I joined GSB, which teaches half the classes in German. My mother is fully Swiss, but she moved to America years ago, so she is fluent in English. My dad is American and speaks neither Swiss German nor German. As a result, I spoke English my entire childhood, so I joined a GSB with zero to no German experience.

I was open to the idea of learning a new language, because I always admired people who could speak to others from totally different cultures. It was like a superpower. But once I joined the school, I realized that I was one of the only kids who spoke no German. I immediately felt left out and pushed away. How can I contribute to my German classes? How would I ask for help? I felt like a caterpillar in a room full of cocoons and butterflies, where everyone was evolving while I was still at phase one. 

For the next month, I tried to keep up with my fellow classmates while focusing on the skills I had already developed: singing, art, and track. During this time, I also realized that my classmates weren’t competition, but friends who were there to help me when I was struggling. They helped me remember the value of the risk I took coming to a dual-language German/English school – not to immediately succeed, but to fail and learn from my mistakes.

I ended up staying at GSB for the rest of my elementary school years and throughout all of middle school. I love looking back and reflecting on all the progress I've made since 4th grade, especially since it took me a while to grasp the risks of attending a German/English school with no prior German experience. Even as I write and express my thoughts, I keep discovering new things about myself I didn't know I had.

Now, after being at GSB for so long, I am able to express most of my thinking through my assignments, whether it's through writing, drawing, or just a simple presentation. I have to admit, my German is definitely not perfect, probably amateur at best, but for me, it's the process and progress that I care most about. I still think that risk was worth it, because even though I'm still in my cocoon, I have evolved in many other things, like expressing myself in more than one language, building confidence, and being open to new experiences.

If I had any advice to give to my past self (or anyone, really), I would say that whatever it is, take the risk, because even if the outcome isn't exactly what you want it to be, you will learn something even better than what you intended to in the first place.
Danke fürs Lesen! (Thank you for reading!)

Serafina R., 8th Grade