This is the life…

Live Life is beautiful, even with errors.

Have you ever seen “vida” (the Spanish word for life) written with a “b” rather than a “v”? Probably not too often. Have you ever heard it spoken with a “v”? It’s entirely possible, but you likely wouldn’t notice the mistake. Why is that? The Spanish consonants “v” and “b” can sound ambiguous - almost indistinguishable from one another when spoken. For a Spanish-language learner, the correct letter can be tricky to identify unless you already know the spelling of the word containing that sound. And that’s OKAY. You can make a few errors and still be understood as you learn and grow with your language skills.

Why does this matter? Why do I encourage making mistakes with Spanish? It matters because it means you are challenging yourself to take action and try something. It’s a wonderful way to grow.

People frequently make mistakes in their native language all of the time - I know I certainly do! I trip over words, substitute one letter sound for another, and repeat pronunciations that I misunderstood. As the listener, it’s usually easy to overlook when other speakers commit errors. Ultimately, we are still able to communicate.

The lesson of “La bida es bella” is one that I return to time and time again. It is a wonderful reframing tool, reminding me of the value of a growth mindset. It empowers me to keep practicing and challenging myself to try new things beyond my comfort zone. It fosters humility and cultivates new connections. And that is beautiful.

Welcome to Word Traveler. 🧭