By Na’imah White
Reflection
I didn’t realize it at the time, but both pieces bolstered my confidence in distinct ways.
The first essay, “Il curioso caso dei ragazzi” del New England, was where I let my humorous side out. Since I wrote this one early in my Italian language learning career, I had to look up so many words! However, even that inconvenience of pausing repeatedly just to find the best translation was incredibly fun. That’s when I knew that learning to express myself in Italian would be incredibly rewarding if I stuck it through. When the time came to publish it in the 2023 issue of CANAL, I enjoyed revisiting this silly assignment and refining it with the new grammar rules and colloquial phrases that I had learned in other Italian courses. I’m incredibly proud of the final result, which reflects me with Italian flair.
The second text I wrote, “Carlo”, was a character analysis written for my Advanced Italian Grammar course. As expected, it was significantly longer than the first and required much more stamina to give a general plot breakdown, character analysis, my opinion, and historical context, all while maintaining grammar and clarity. It certainly was a challenge, but one that I was proud to have accomplished. I remember that while writing this one, I could recognize my growth through less frequent visits to Treccani (the Italian Merriam-Webster) and a better handle on verb tenses and conjugations.
When I was first asked to publish some of my work, I was excited but also nervous that I would look foolish publishing in a foreign language. However, it is that exact encouragement—from myself and others—that led me to be a part of CANAL and that still spurs me on today. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to follow what I like to do and to do it even when scared, because that’s when you realize you’re brave and can achieve much more than you ever thought possible.
After writing for CANAL, I was accepted into Middlebury Language School’s prestigious Summer Immersion program in Italian. Unfortunately, due to my circumstances, I was unable to attend. However, I was also accepted into Westminster University’s International Partnership for Service-Learning and Leadership (IPSL) program, which allowed me to spend two months completely immersed in Siena, Italy, in 2025. Currently, I run a personal blog where I publish articles in both English and Italian.
It’s funny—many people, even Italians, have asked me why I study the language because it’s not often seen as “lucrative.” My answer is always simple: “Because I like it.” Pursuing this language out of pure enjoyment has been invaluable to me. It has opened me up to new experiences, culture, and a side of myself that perseveres even through the hard, embarrassing, and at times boring moments. I recommend language learning to everyone because it powerfully connects us to ourselves and others.
Read “Il curioso caso dei ragazzi del New England” Canal Issue VII (2023).
Biographical Statement - Na’imah White
Na’imah graduated from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the class of 2023 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in Italian. She is currently preparing to pursue a Master’s degree in Advertising Communication, Storytelling, and Culture of Image at the Università per Stranieri di Perugia, with a continued focus on language, culture, and cross-cultural communication.