Hey, so I haven't gotten any submissions.... But if you have and I didn't get them, please comment and tell me if you did! I think I will make a Google Form instead because I'm not totally sure that the way I first tried even works.... I'm publishing stories I do in Creative Writing class... YAY!

Almost There

ChloeCGS 

"I must learn more languages."

My dad gave me a Japanese Learning Dictionary as a small present as he remembered my interest in the language as a small child. I flipped through the book studying the phrases and words closely to the point where I could practically recite it from memory, but that's not enough. Only learning a little bit of spanish wasn't enough either. I needed to know more and I was determined. I knew that I had been fluent in japanese at a very young age, but I only found out once my mother told me about it. That motivated me even more to continue learning.

That was six whole years ago.

I now know how to speak or understand spanish, japanese, ancient egyptian, italian, and (of course) english. That's only 5 languages of the thousands out there ready for me to learn. The only problem was, what language next? My biggest motivation pushing me to learn more was my Aunt Loretta (who was really my second cousin). She was getting older now and was a language teacher in a few schools. She spoke 7 languages fluently. I think I can pass her though. At least, that's my goal.

It's the day before Band Camp is going to start and I'm honestly not sure what to do. I mean, I have a really messed up sleeping schedule. The decision whether to stay up all night right into Band Camp or attempt to sleep and continue my messed up schedule was gnawing away at my insides. I am horrible at making decisions most of the time. An idea popped into my head. Netflix is always the answer! I pull out my phone and look through a list of shows that I can marathon for hours. A show I had been putting off watching for months made me hesitate when it crossed my vision. Switched at Birth. The show seemed interesting enough.

The two main characters, Daphne and Bay, were switched at birth and never knew it until Bay demanded a blood test with her "parents". Bay had grown up with a rich family and a star baseball player of a dad, even though that wasn't her real family. Daphne had fallen very ill at a very young age and lost her ability to hear, thus becoming deaf. She grew up in a household in the hood while going to a deaf school. Her "father" has left at a young age because he thought she wasn't his (which he was correct about, but for the wrong reason).

The show had extensive use of American Sign Language (ASL), and I began picking up certain signs and how to understand it. It was pretty interesting how only the keywords of a sentence need to be said. Most other inbetween words are left out and therefore have no sign. I looked at my phone to check the time. 4:30 AM. I think I have time. 4 hours should be enough.

I took out my laptop and looked up a very helpful video by a college professor. In the video the professor was teaching a younger girl sign language. No words were spoken in the video, but that only allowed me to immerse myself into the video better. I learned lots of vocabulary in the 20 minute video. The video itself might have been short, but I kept pausing and rewinding to study the signs better and commit them to memory.

It was now 6 o'clock. Wow, time flies by fast when you're enjoying yourself. I look on the appstore on my phone to get an ASL app. While it downloads I decide to look up the alphabet in sign language because it can help a lot if you don't know a sign you can just spell the word out. You also need it for introducing yourself with your name. You'd think that learning ASL would be really hard, but it's not. It was quite easy considering you are not trying to memorize new words or sounds. All you are doing is matching symbols you make with your hands to words you say.

Finally, at 8:30, I was exploding with excitement. I now know my 6th official language! I can hold any everyday conversation I might have with someone in sign language. I even tested it by trying to sign things like, "You won't believe what I did today!" or simply just introducing myself. Two more to go before I can surpass my aunt... I'm almost there.

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Honestly guys, I don't know why I published this one. It's utter shit. SORRY!