The Meaning of Language Learning

Most skills only hold value when there is external demand. If no one needs what you have learned, it is practically useless. Everything in life needs land on concrete, tangible outcomes.
Even top political figures rarely master foreign languages thoroughly, they only memorize a few daily phrases. Most people who spend years learning a foreign language barely get any chance to apply it in real life.
This makes me constantly question: what is the true meaning of language learning? If I do not rely on Japanese to make money or support my career, why should I keep learning it?
Gradually, I found the answer myself. Learning a language is essentially learning to read and recognize a new set of characters. Once you acquire literacy in another language, you will naturally start reading and absorbing new information unconsciously.
Every new language breaks the original boundaries of my brain and thinking logic. It reshapes my perspective and expands the dimension of how I perceive the world.
Therefore, not all learning is an investment. Sometimes learning is pure consumption — it is me spending my precious currency, time, on nourishing my inner self, with no expectation of material return.
The value of language learning does not lie in utilitarian gains or practical usage. It exists to expand cognition and build a broader spiritual world for myself.
It is essentially stepping into another civilization, not merely reading translated information on the surface.