Zoe Brodsky has always been a language aficionado.

“I’ve always loved language,” senior Zoe Brodsky said. “I’ve always been able to pick up different languages really quickly even from a young age.”

However, instead of taking the traditional high-school route of learning only one language, Brodsky taught herself to speak in six different foreign tongues: Spanish, French, Italian, German, and her personal favorite, Greek.

“The Greek language is so pretty but so hard to learn,” Brodsky said. “Greek has a completely different alphabet to memorize, so this makes it more difficult than the other languages I know– but I love it.”

As a young child, Brodsky attended Greek School, where she learned the basics of the language. However, many years later, she had to re-teach it to herself using Rosetta Stone, a computerized language program.  Even though it was difficult, Brodsky still persevered and manages to speak Greek with great fluency. Brodsky’s main motivation for teaching herself the language was to be able to communicate with her Greek grandparents.

“I’m half Greek, and my mother is full,” Brodsky said.  “Language is such a big part of my family and my life, so learning Greek was very important to me.”

Aside from mastering the art of language, Brodsky also mastered the art of writing, spilling out her emotions through pen and paper.  Starting from a young age, Brodsky would write creative short stories to be read aloud in her elementary school classes. Now, she writes for a hobby, and one day wishes to become a psychologist who writes on the side.

“I’ll admit: I’m a self-proclaimed awkward person,” Brodsky said.  “Writing is my way of expressing myself and saying what I truly mean to say.”

Brodsky’s writing has been published 10 times on teenink.com, nine times for poetry and once for nonfiction. Teenink.com is a website where creative writers, artists and poets can share their talents with others and gain recognition for their work.

“Writing helps me express how I see things, how I feel about certain situations,” Brodsky said. “Language is a part of me. It’s my heart and soul.”