The beauty of unlocking multiple worlds through language

Escrito por: Alexa Figueroa 🇸🇻

Headshot of Jasmine Franco. (Alexa Figueroa)

At twelve years old, Jasmine Franco used the science fiction books she read in her closet to create her own magical universe. Being an avid reader, she cleared out her closet, installed shelves, and connected a radio and CD player to an extension cord. Station 94.7's tunes, including those of One Republic and the hit song "Take Me to Church" by Hozier, flooded her ears as she read books like "The Fault in Our Stars." 

“Recently, I've been going back and listening to 2014 music because what I'm doing now is so similar to what I was doing then, so it kind of just takes me back,” Franco said. 

Franco started her college journey at Montgomery College, where she dabbled in different language courses, such as Russian and Latin. She also experimented with majoring in molecular neuroscience and linguistics. In the end, Franco decided on English because it allowed her to continue working as a writer and editor in all fields.

“I just like learning about a lot of different things, which is why it was so hard for me to attend college, because I needed to pave one path. I never wanted to do that and I still don't,” she said.

Franco thought that it was always difficult for her to finish her education, so she took a semester off of college without the intent to return. In order to figure out her career, she pursued a variety of what she refers to as "odd jobs and gigs." She eventually returned to UMD to continue paving a new path. 

“It humbled me so much and made me so grateful. I've always liked this idea of being a jack of all trades,” she said. “Going out and working all those jobs taught me different skills, like how to record a sports game or I taught music to kids and I was a waiter for the first time.”

Franco was raised by Guatemalan parents speaking both English and Spanish. She views languages as the key to unlocking different cultures since they give her access to a multitude of information in the form of books, music, and history. 

Family of Jasmine Franco. (Courtesy of Jasmine Franco)

“Language doesn't flow off my tongue super well, which is why I prefer to write, because I have time to sit and rethink everything and go back and edit it. When I'm speaking, I can't do that without sounding a little bit choppy,” Franco said.

Being a sister has played a significant role in her character. She and her siblings belong to three distinct age groups, and this has greatly influenced her personality, in part because her sister raised her, and now shares a similar role as an older sister to her brother, who is eight years younger than her. 

As a December graduate, Franco has a ghostwriting job lined up for a PR company. 

“I prefer writing for other people instead of writing stuff for myself. So that's kind of just kind of perfect for me,” Franco said.

“I don’t know what to say. I dare you to put that.” - Daniel Franco