Writing in another language - Bella Cardenas's Blog

As many of you have experienced, writing is difficult. In the English language alone, there are so many words to chose from to find your perfect word that you want to use. Sometimes it takes me weeks to find that one word that fits my idea, or maximizes my imagery. In other languages, my vocabulary isn't as complex so writing in that particular language is difficult.

Then i take a step back and look at the Classics. T.S Elliot, for instance, writes in different languages. Why, I'm not sure, I barely understand Mr. Elliot. But to be honest, it seems like sometimes when I can't find the perfect word, I use another one in a different language. There are some words that don't exist in English that fit what I'm trying to say.

What I find amazing though, is that in every language, there are emotions that we all experience. In every language, we all write poetry, right? But why is it so hard to explain things in different languages? Maybe it's a cultural barrier. Like in Spanish I could easily talk about things that I couldn't even dare to talk about in Vietnamese. English is really a free for all. It sounds weird but I feel like a completely different persona when i speak in these different languages. All these customs, and traditions rush over me in a wave.

I don't know why i'm talking about this. It's probably because i'm preparing for national Latino Heritage Month. I really want to reach out to the Latino youth. Somebody has to, right? I just think that it's really sad that sometimes, as Americans, we lose the identity that our ancestors once possessed. Sometimes I see the detoriation of the youth, but the see the strengths too. It's getting harder and harder for the youth these days.

In America, there are so many different areas of experience that carry it's own way of thinking. It's one thing to write as a multicultural person. It's a different voice as a youth. It's another to write as a  women. But it's a totally different world to write as an American.Trying to grasp all this voices, these languages with one pen is a daunting task.

What I'm trying to say is, we all have different languages and ideals that we speak with, and it's such a great learning tool to appreciate and soak in all these different cultures. So keep on writing with your own language, to tell others of your experience, in order to educate and make each poetic endeavor beautiful. Adding your own spice to things makes life so much more interesting.

Well, I hope everyone is happy and healthy. Peace and Love.

Bella.