Learning another language can be painful and hard. It can be difficult to understand why people would do it, because is the difference between perfect past subjunctive and past subjunctive really that big? What makes it so perfect? Personally, I love speaking in Spanish in front of my sisters who take French. We drive each other up the walls, but there has to be more than that. There have to be more reasons to speak another language, other than messing with your friends. Thankfully, there are several reasons to learn other languages.

Let's start with the fact that you can travel all over the world. Not everywhere, of course. You cannot forget that the countless indigenous languages that exist on the six continents. However, if you learn a more common language like French, Arabic or Mandarin, the possibilities are almost endless. With Spanish under my belt, I can visit most of Central and South America. That means Machu Picchu and Havana could be my backyard. I can explore thousands of miles of new coastline or walk along the longest mountain range in the world. I can see the diversity among the people and in the tropical rainforests. This is only with Spanish. Imagine knowing more than two languages. What about four or five? There would be few places that you cannot go.

What about the opportunities in the work place? Well, for starters, you can expect a $10,000 pay increase, according to the CEO of BRIC Language System. That's not the only crazy fact. One United States manufacturing company would pay an engineer based in China about $30,000 more than the usual salary if they were fluent in "both languages," (presumably English and Mandarin). While not every company will you give you such a lavish pay increase, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that you can expect more. Who wouldn't want a better chance at the middle class?

You also make better decisions, according to various studies. One study in the Unites States and Korea found that people making decisions in their second language were more analytical. Their response to emotionally charged words were muted. Researchers believe this is because thinking in a second language forces you to slow down. It "promotes deliberation." When making a decision with you native language, the response was automatic. While hindsight is 20/20, most would agree that they would like to make the better decision before they made it. As I've entered into the adult world, I realized that it is decisions, decisions, and more decisions. You face so many choices in this world. Wouldn't it be nice to be confident in choosing the right one?

Perhaps one of the most important reasons to learn another language is that it ends bigotry. Mark Twain said, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." and he was absolutely right. However, not everyone has the finical means to travel. Flying across an ocean, or driving to another continent is not feasible for many. Learning a language is an easy way to travel the world without spending that money. It is impossible to learn a language and not learn about the cultures tied to it. To truly understand a language, you must understand everywhere it is spoken and learn about the people there. This makes language perhaps the easiest way to become globally aware and minded.

The benefits of speaking other languages are endless. It is the reason I took three different language classes last semester. It wasn't easy and those closest to me call me crazy. Now while I don't deny that I am eccentric, it has little to do with my desire to speak as many languages as I can. Learning a language is a way to expand my horizons and give me a leg up in the world. I don't face the limitations that monolingual people do. Now it's not easy. Taking Spanish, German, and ancient Greek last semester was a lot and I've back down to taking only Spanish and German this semester. But that doesn't mean it's not worth it. Next time you are sitting in a required language class or experiencing the usual frustrations of verb conjugations, remember what makes other languages so great. Remember why it is important. Being multilingual will take you further in life that you can imagine. Good luck!