The acquisition of a language can profoundly alter the way you view the world. It’s not simply learning new linguistic signs, but a new culture and novel way of expressing thoughts and ideas. It’s also a great way to avoid inadvertently suggesting that you’re a jelly-filled doughnut.

For more than two decades, I only had English (and a few words of French) to inform my world view. Now, I can claim four: English, Deutsch (German), Svenska (Swedish), and русский (Russian). As of today, I have studied at least one language every single day for 100 days. I can’t remember the last time I did something completely optional for that many days in a row. Building my polylingual vocabulary has become as integral a part of my morning as a cup of coffee and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Until just over four years ago, I knew one language…