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I had no idea it was possible to sweat so heavily without engaging in any physical activity. I wasn't standing at the open door of a plane thousands of feet in the air, ready to jump out into the wild, blue sky. Rather, I was simply sitting on my bed, wearing my most comfortable clothes, and waiting to hit the "Enter classroom" button on my computer. I had signed up for an online language lesson with a Portuguese language tutor. For the past few months, I had been studying the language and I knew video chat was the next best option.

As I clicked the button, a friendly face popped up on the screen in front of me. At that moment, my mind froze. Feeling my nervousness, my tutor said something I still remember today, "Learning a new language is like showing your weakness to the world. It can be uncomfortable." The ice was officially broken. As I've progressed along on my language journey, I often think back to her insight.

She is right. We take as a given the power to express ourselves freely, and when that power is taken away, we are brought to a place of weakness. Yet if we keep pushing forward despite this weakness, we will unlock a wealth of valuable gains.

My three-year-old son has big feelings but has insufficient vocabulary to properly express himself. When I started learning Portuguese, I realized how difficult it must be for him to be understood in the adult world around him. I'm a better parent now.

When my husband and I finally visited Portugal and ordered food in Portuguese at a small shop, the server thanked us for taking time to learn their language. Learning Portuguese taught me that attempting to learn someone else's language shows respect not only for their homeland but for the people themselves.

Taking on the challenge of Portuguese has also awakened a fire within me. If you had told me a year ago that I would be taking a writing course, competing in competitions at my gym, or learning about car maintenance, I truly wouldn't have believed it. Now I deeply believe that challenging yourself can be rewarding in ways you will never know unless you attempt it.