I don’t…at least not really or at least not YET. It has been a lifelong goal of mine to speak another language fluently. I keep putting it off, but a fire gets lit under me whenever I visit another country because while I’m there, I’ll pick up phrases and words and I come back feeling like if I were to really TRY to learn another language…I mean REALLy put my heart into it…I could do it. And I bet it wouldn’t be as difficult as I might think. I did learn English, after all. Granted it was sort of involuntary learning and I don’t really remember learning it, but clearly I did since I’m fairly certain I didn’t come out of the womb speaking in sentences.

So I’m looking into Spanish.

I haven’t chosen Spanish simply because I want to know how to navigate the ATM when I accidentally hit the “Espanol” button on the language choice screen (this happened to me once and I’m amazed I actually stumbled my way through). No, my choice of Spanish comes from the fact that it’s what I studied in school so I do already have a base (albeit a small one) from which to build upon. And then there was last year when I went to Peru and was shocked at how much of the language came back to me during the two weeks I was there. By the time I left, I felt comfortable asking basic questions in restaurants or of people on the street. Pretty impressive since I haven’t spoken much more than a greeting or two over the last decade plus.

What’s holding me back, you ask? Well, the way to go if you want to learn another language as I understand it is through using The Rosetta Stone software learning program. I have the demo disc and can say that even in the few short sample lessons I’ve done, there are some words that stuck with me. Where I hesitate is due to the cost involved. It really isn’t that expensive I guess, when you consider the alternative (classes are WAY more), but I just haven’t made it a true priority I think.

I’m a firm believer in the fact that a person will find money when they need to if something is important enough. For example, when I was working my first “real” job in Alaska, I was barely making enough to eat, however I managed to fly myself home within the first year I was there which was NOT a cheap ticket. How? I have no idea now, but I can remember putting aside a little here and a little there until there was enough to pay for the ticket.

It’s all about priorities.

In recent months, my emotional health has been a larger priority so I’ve made sure that trips have been planned (and taken) which seems to be the primary thing (outside of God!) that keeps me from going crazy. Next priority down from that is my house which seemingly always has something that needs fixing or updating. I’m told that this is the perpetual state of things when you own your home, so I’d better just get used to it. And I guess all other things come after those two. Naturally Chena and Brighton are priorities as well, but they don’t cost me anything on a day-to-day basis really, so I wasn’t counting them as priorities which drain me of cash.

Not that any of this really matters to anyone who might be reading this, but to understand me is in part to understand that I am a total verbal processor. I must verbalize everything I’m thinking seriously about - either by mouth or pen (or keyboard). This is how I make decisions. I need to write it all out, mull over it, gather feedback when necessary, and then come to a conclusion.

Will I purchase Rosetta Stone? Probably… But I need to prioritize it.