Daring Greatly

Daring greatly.  That is how I feel about speaking French. 

The good news is; I am learning French!  The bad news is; it is a slow, difficult process.  Overall, my French classes are going well.  I have learned a lot these first few weeks and my instructors are pleased with my progress.  The class is conducted almost completely in French and I am able to understand most of what my instructors say (granted, they are speaking slowly and using words they have taught me).  I am learning how to communicate in French and can express myself on a basic level in class.

Outside of class is different story.  Suddenly I am met with expressions of confusion when I speak French.  Perhaps my pronunciation is slightly off and I cannot be understood or maybe I cannot be understood because my grammar is slightly off.  Constructing a sentence from scratch in a new language can be difficult!  My instructors understand me.  Why doesn’t everyone else? Then there are the looks of frustration when I have to admit to someone that I do not understand what they are saying.  I understand my instructors.  Why can’t I understand everyone else?

When I feel discouraged and want to be silent instead of attempt a conversation in French, I remind myself that learning something new takes courage.  The words of Theodore Roosevelt below offer great encouragement and remind me that, as I step into the uncertain arena each day, there is no guarantee that I will become fluent in French by the time I hope to, but at least I am daring greatly to reach my goal.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

                                                                                                            - Theodore Roosevelt