Kids who translate for their parents at the bank are carrying two languages and a lot of trust.

Interpreting for your own family is not only language work. You are holding somebody’s money, their appointment, their embarrassment and their dignity, in a room full of adults who talk past them to you. That is real responsibility, handed over early and almost never named as such. It builds a particular steadiness that is hard to see in yourself, because it has always just been your job.

If this is you, notice what you are genuinely good at: staying calm, reading a room, explaining hard things simply. If it is somebody you know, say out loud that you saw it. Hardly anyone gets thanked for this.