Habits vs Routines: Why I Broke My 200 Day Duolingo Streak

I set out last July determined to learn German. I am a part of a National Coca-Cola Collectors Club and during our last convention I spent many days with some German speaking friends. While they knew English and did their best to speak it in my presence, I knew they wanted to communicate with one another in their native tongue. Upon returning home, I downloaded the Duolingo app and began the journey of learning what many consider a very difficult language.

I took French in high school and Spanish in college. Neither language stuck with me since I was not actually using it. Back in February of 2020 I was able to enroll in the local school for the deaf to learn sign language- but we all know what happened in 2020. I tried on my own but never got very far.

Being fluent in another language is a bucket list item. So when I made the decision to learn German I told myself that I want to be fluent enough to have a conversation with my German friends at the next convention. One year to learn conversational German isn’t out of the realm of reality.

I opened my app daily and was very excited to learn something new. As someone who suffers from bouts of depression, this was a great way to distract my brain and bring light into my life.