Ever since I got involved in my school’s Chinese program I've been captivated by what Chinese natives find commonplace but to my surprise is an intricate and vast world of culture, characters, customs and history dating back farther than history/time itself. Even though I don’t personally have any Chinese lineage I found their culture and customs intriguing as they are so different from my own.
At the start of my 6th grade year we were offered a choice- commit to 3 years of Chinese elective or choose another program such as digital art or theater. This was a very hard decision and for multiple months I thought about the benefits and downsides of studying a new/third language (we learn Spanish at our school as well) as opposed to engaging in something I love doing such as photography. I had heard from many older students that the program was difficult and the language had a steep learning curve. At this time I was conversing with classmates and family on the topic and I decided that I would take the challenge and register for the course.
The first class I felt overwhelmed with all of the intricacy of the characters and the different
(Around this time I had started to be interested in different east asian cultures and media.)
I feel very lucky to have been exposed to this program as it has changed my perspective on Chinese culture in an exciting way.
