By Diva Zeckua
Have you ever asked yourself how different the world would be if everyone could speak every language and dialect that exists? Even if that is not possible, language learning grants us the opportunity to communicate with people in different parts of the world. At the beginning of my college career in 2018, I did not understand the impact that this would be having in my life and in the lives of others. Now as a future optometrist, I better understand the importance of being able to communicate in different languages. For example, I personally find it rewarding to be able to create unique rapports with patients in their native language and help them understand their health status as best as possible.
Furthermore, speaking foreign languages, like Italian, grants us the possibility to meet people in our work fields who speak those languages. This allows us to create international relationships, and grants us an opportunity to better understand how our professions look in different countries. When I traveled to Italy in 2023 and 2024, I visited a few optical offices and communicated directly with some of the professionals in the cities of Lucca, Venice, and Salerno. Since there are differences between countries by how the profession of optometry is conducted, I had the intention and curiosity to expand my knowledge of this field in Italy to better understand how my future work looks like there. These were unforgettable experiences that encouraged me to continue on my path, and made me realize how much the Italian language has helped me open doors I never thought I would open before studying the language. I would love to be able to do the same and learn more in other cities in Italy in the future.
Sometimes we do not know how, or to what extent, a foreign language can change our lives. It is because of this, and many other reasons, that I encourage everyone to study languages, especially Italian, either at school or by themselves!
