I was not born deaf.

It happened when I was four.

I had two bouts of spinal meningitis.

My mother spent years searching for the right schools for me to attend.

All her hard work was worth her time and mine.

Without my mom, I would not be where I am today.

Speech therapy, both the school and my mom worked hard with me.

I hated it so much but for today I speak like no one would notice.

I didn’t grow up in a deaf school, or a deaf community.

I didn’t use sign language during my childhood years.

During my high school years where I attended was a public school, I met some deaf people who lived in my area.

I learned pieces of the American Sign Language.

It took years before I actually used it.

My children did not grow up to learn signs with me.

I did get my GED….that was the easy part for me.

I wanted more.

An education for my future.

I put it off to raise a family.

Had four beautiful daughters.

They are now adults pursuing their own futures.

I made it through college and got my BA degree.

I am proud of my efforts and determinations.

I do not believe that anything shall stop me from achieving many goals I have on my list.

Life has been good to me.

God has been good to me.

I have kept my faith in my life and it is the reason why I have accomplished so much.

I might be deaf, but it never stops me from trying anything!

I have had to endure a lot of humiliation and betrayal over the years amongst some old friends and new.

They learned the hard way…and they treated me with respect in the long run.

I have my moments of miscommunications, and that is the normal part of my life because I can only lip-read, not hear the letters that get spoken about.

I have endured so many jobs in my lifetime, yet many Managers, Supervisors, etc have yet to learn anything about working with the deaf.

Deaf are generally the hardest working people and all they ever do is keep on trying, and not many companies give them a chance at all.

We deaf people are humans just like the rest of you.

We make mistakes, we learn from them, the same way the rest of the world does.