Ms. Castillo's classroom always felt a little different from the others. The moment you walk in, you can hear soft Latin music playing and see bright posters of words and phrases covering the walls. On the first day of school, she smiled and said, " In here, don't be afraid to make mistakes. That's how you learn."At first, everyone was nervous, stumbling over words and laughing at ourselves. She had a way of making even the hardest lessons feel possible. When we struggled with pronunciation, she patiently repeated words with us, breaking them down until we got it right. Ms. Castillo taught us how to communicate, how to step out of our comfort zones, and how to appreciate and respect a culture beyond our own.