Abesgami High School World Language Induction

On Thursday, March 4th, I travelled down to Galloway Twsp to speak at the World Language Honor Society Induction. There were 42 students inducted into the French and Spanish Honor Society in a wonderful ceremony celebrating their success. The student's faces were glowing with pride and their parents seemed happy to take a couple of hours to rejoice in how well their children were turning out.

I spoke to the group of students and parents about my life and experiences in Spain. One of the things that came up was the fact that I never would have imagined being a speaker at an Honor Society far away when I was their age. I was once shy and still am -in pockets - and this sort of thing just didn't seem possible.

Equally impossible was the thought of one day traveling to a foreign country. For me, these worlds were so distant and so magical that I never believed that I could go to experience these cultures.

To conclude, I asked everyone to do something that I have done all my life: go home and write down a dream that seems attainable and put it in an envelope. On the outside of the envelope, write down a date which is an appointment with yourself. I told them that I believed that just writing down your dream helps you to speak this to yourself and that one day, you will achieve it.

After the talk, a mom came to me with her daughter. "I feel that tonight has changed my daughter's life," she said. "I am going right home and I am going to give her an envelope and she is going to do it - she'll put her dream in the envelope! I feel so inspired."

This alone made the three hour trip down to Galloway Twsp well worth the effort. I popped a Ritz cracker into my mouth and chewed it as I walked out the door to get into my car. A large granite sculpture cast a shadow on the shiny lobby floor: I guess it is just somebody's dream, leaving its mark to this day.