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Choosing a high school language class shouldn’t require sibling approval, yet one 18-year-old has spent the past two years defending his decision to take Spanish instead of German.

Growing up, he was genuinely drawn to Spanish, partly inspired by his mom having learned it.

So when he decided to enroll, despite both his older siblings (now ages 26 and 33) having taken German years earlier, that choice sparked ongoing frustration from both of them.

Suddenly they were framing his perfectly innocent decision as ruining some imagined sibling tradition of a shared secret language and repeatedly insisting a hypothetical German-speaking job offer should have mattered more than his actual interest.

Years later, the criticism hasn’t faded, with his siblings still bringing it up as though picking a different elective in high school was some kind of lasting betrayal.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITA for taking the “wrong” foreign language?

I (18M) was always interested in learning Spanish, even as a kid. I also liked it because my mom learned it.

My brother (26M) and sister (33F) both took German in high school.

His siblings had envisioned he would follow in their footsteps.

So I went and took Spanish during these past two years of high school, and oh boy, were they unhappy, not just when I started, but to this day.

They said stuff like, “It could’ve been a sibling thing where we all took and spoke a secret language, but you ruined that,” along with “We had family that was German.”

But he had good reasons for wanting to go a different route.

I tried to explain that I took what I think I would most likely use (especially for my career, btw I am from the US where Spanish is the second most common language), but they counter with, “What if you got a job offer in a German speaking country?”

I also explain that I was just more interested in taking Spanish, and they weren’t too happy.

They continue on their crusade to make him feel guilty.

They also said, “The teacher is gonna be disappointed he taught us but not you.” My brother also said, “He’s better than any of whoever the Spanish teachers are” (ironically one of my Spanish teachers became one of my favorite teachers I had in high school).

They acted like I was wrong for not following in their footsteps.

AITA for not doing what my siblings did? I have to add that I don’t have anything against German as a language, I just took what I was interested in taking.

Imagine being mad about something like this when you’re in your late-20s or early-30s.

Redditors are sure to get a kick out of this one.

This commenter agrees Spanish is way more useful.

This student deserves to make his own decisions without outside interference.

What language you choose to take in high school doesn’t usually have large implications on the rest of your life.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about a single person who is dumbfounded when her friends insist couples count as one person when splitting a check.

This user points out more holes in the older siblings’ logic.

Nobody owes their siblings a matching transcript, and turning a high school elective into a two-year grudge says a lot more about them than it does about him.

At some point, adults in their late twenties and thirties need to accept that a teenager choosing a class based on genuine interest and practical career reasoning isn’t a personal betrayal.

These older siblings really ought to grow up.