Support Sybella's Dream to Study in Germany

Hallo Freunde! Nächstes Semester werde ich in Deutschland studieren! (Hello friends! Next Semester I will be studying in Germany!)

Hello! I am Sybella and I am a huge history and culture lover, all thanks to my parents! I was lucky to grow up a Military brat, both of my parents were Air Force and were both deployed different places, hearing their stories I grew fascinated with picturing the different places they got to see and different people they got to meet! I was blessed to live in beautiful New Mexico on a military base where there are so many different cultures and ethnicities, which made my love for the land and culture instant, and made me want to feel a sense of connection with anyone and everyone… starting in my own state/country, and hopefully one day building connections with people and land from other countries like the stories/experiences my parents lived.

After New Mexico we moved to Homestead, Florida where my dad took a retirement job…there I was introduced to new island cultures. When I first started school I was one of the only white students who spoke only English… the majority were Cuban who spoke little to no English, I still quickly became friends with a lot of Cuban girls who spoke NO English and I spoke NO Spanish…I never knew you could start teaching each other a language by just speaking your language and pointing. I started learning some Spanish from them and they started learning some English from me, but by no means could I ACTUALLY speak Spanish, only a few sentences here and there… so funny story, our science class got a new teacher who spoke no Spanish, when the teacher started asking students who they were or “tell us something about yourself”, I of course did, when the teacher asked my friend next to me the same question, I had to say she speaks no English, the teacher automatically assumed I could translate since I was right next to her and she was my friend, I said “sure”, and began rambling a Spanish sentence together with mainly fake made up words and maybe a few real ones… so my friend next to me looked confused and asked in Spanish what I just had said, I then just told the teacher her name and a fun fact… don’t worry I learned my lesson from that one, and I was homeschooled not long after, so I sadly forgot the Spanish I did learn.

My want/love for learning another language may have came from faking I know Spanish for a little bit… but my want/love to learn German first started the end of 8th grade when I had to choose my classes for my freshman year of high school. Spanish or German were one of my options for a elective class, instantly I knew I wanted to learn another language, it was a perfect way to learn more history/culture, and a bonus that I would be able to communicate with others and feel cool that I can speak two languages, so then came the hardest part… choosing which language I wanted to learn, I am both Mexican and German from my moms side so either language would be cool! We all know I chose German, but for a few different reasons… I just had moved to a small town from a city with a million different ethnicities and cultures (and where I got by faking Spanish), here in the small town I live in, there are mainly two ethnicities…as a 13-14 year old arriving in a small town from basically Miami, I of course looked different overall, I had long acrylic nails, bright colored clothing, heels, etc. but the biggest question on middle schoolers minds were “oh what are you, and where are you from?” Of course I answered with, “Miami, and technically I’m Mexican, German, Polish, Italian, and more I think”, then the follow up question to my response was, “oh so you can speak Spanish, right?”, I answered with “no..”, that got me some side eyes because they have been learning Spanish since elementary, which later throughout high school was used to try and make fun of me, “the Mexican who couldn’t speak Spanish”, and I have more Hispanic features then German, so often those would be pointed out.

I decided to choose German purely because I saw how different I was looked at and I decided to love being different/unique, and not let peoples assumptions or opinions determine my path. It was only a bonus I could become more connected with my grandmother and her ethnicity/culture, since her father migrated to the states from Germany at 21 (my age) and opened a bar! (My mom talked about taking my grandma to Germany so she could see it for herself. My Grandmother died unexpectedly when I was 16 years old, so I hope to do this for her as well.) After high school I attended a technical college that didn’t offer German, instead of giving up I continued practicing through duo-lingo, looked back at my old notes from high school, watched shows in German and spoke whenever I could. After two years at a community college, I started searching for my next school with help from my mom. She found Steven’s Point which I didn’t want to go to at first, but she pointed out they offered International Studies and most importantly, German, so I became on board (thank you mom). I applied and got accepted, then asked if I would like to take a placement test for my German, I decided not to and just be put into German 101. I am so glad I did because the first semester was just a refreshment and a confidence booster for me, I basically knew what was being taught already but of course I was learning even more and in a different way! The next semester I was learning German I did not know, which of course was a challenge but one I knew I could face. Half way throughout my second semester at my first year at a new university, I get an email saying “Congratulations, you have won an Award!”, instantly I thought it was fake and didn’t think about it for weeks, until I got a reminder to RSVP the event, I showed my parents and said “this is fake right?”, the response was “no, you definitely won an award”… I was shocked, it’s not that I 100% doubt myself but I never imagined myself to win an academic award for German or anything, especially because I have always had to ask my dad “hey dad, does the report card say I passed this year?!”.

That award sparked confidence in myself, I now feel I can do things I never thought I could do, one being traveling and living alone in another country, although I still am absolutely terrified and sad, I feel I can come out the other side okay. I never thought i would work towards my first big purchase alone being for academics but here I am, ready to travel to Germany and shock myself at what I can do or become. I am excited to slowly learn and experience life, and do my part for the world, like my parents and those before them! Even if I chose to learn German for a silly reason, I do believe it was meant to be my path.

Prost und vielen Dank (cheers and thank you)