One of my most recent major personal successes was when I went to Paris. In my first week alone in the city, I felt so uncomfortable. While most people pick up basic conversational skills from learning French in school, I still felt too self-conscious to even utter a word. I could barely even pick up the basic phrases people would say because I was not in an academic setting. I was not prepared to comprehend or respond.

However, I had no choice, but to quickly learn. Within my first week, I already had to call landlords around Paris to schedule appointments to see their apartments. This was not only difficult because of my lack of French skills. I also felt anxious talking on the phone in general. No particular reason why. In addition, I had even more difficulty understanding what people say over the phone. Overall, I was very nervous to call the landlords.

After one day of letting my friend do the calling for me, I decided it was time for me to pick up my share. I practiced getting the words out of my head and built up the courage to actually call. The next day, I pushed myself and managed to call a landlord for the first time. After that, each time got easier and easier, until finally, I did not feel nervous calling landlords anymore. I marked this as my first major success in Paris. I pushed myself and was able to achieve what I could not in my 6 years of learning French: I did not get hung over speaking perfectly and therefore felt confident in actually carrying on a conversation in French for the first time. I felt very proud of my first accomplishment. This marked the moment I lost my inhibitions and opened the way to progress. It was a milestone in my French-learning career.