—OJAILAURIE
"Hey, I'm in my second year of ASL and I think its a great class. Why did I take it? Well because most of my school would take the other foreign languages like Spanish or French. I don't want to be in the majority vote. Also when I was a little kid I learned how to do the alphabet and I really thought i was neat. So I figured since my school was offering it I would use it as a second language and I think its great! "
—MAGICLIZZY"Years ago, I lost my hearing in an accident. For 18 months, I was deaf in both ears due to the trauma. I learned to fingerspell because I was the sighted deaf student in a Deaf and Blind class. I learned to lipread and read and write Braille to do my class work. The teacher offered to teach me sign but my Dad was empathtic that I was going to be in the hearing world and not in a deaf community because the longterm diagnosis was that I would gain back most of the hearing in my "good" ear. And I did so now I'm deaf in one ear only. I wish I had learned sign as well.
I'm homeschooling my son. I gave him the choice of learning French or German as his language. Because, believe it or not, I learned to lipread in German and French as well. The only thing that stymied me was going to the labs and using earphones. So the teachers and I would work one on one in the labs. My German is good and my French is fair and I got along perfectly well in both countries when I was there.
Anyway, he chose ASL instead. So now, I can make up the gap of not being able to sign. And he learns a new language too. And my sister is a teacher for the Deaf so when she comes to visit, we have someone to talk to and correct our mistakes."
—KYRAKITTY
"Hello, I am a 17 1/2 year old Senior in high school. I started taking an ASL course at school as it was offered through the local community college to my high school. I have always been interested in ASL, mainly because my aunt knew some signs and she would teach me when I was little.
I have always been fascinated by the beauty and grace of sign language. The class is two years worth in one year, we have ASL 101-104 in 9 months. It is a fast paced class, and I love every minute of it. We have two teachers, one hearing and one deaf. Our hearing teacher teaches ASL 101 and 103, our deaf teacher teaches 102 and 104. Having been taught by both, I can say that I like the deaf teacher better! He has a better sense of humor! I am eager to learn more, and am highly considering a job in interpretting. I've always wanted to be a teacher, and now I'm thinking about maybe teaching sign language as I love it so much."
—TREMELLOCHIC
"I met girl in high school that is deaf... we soon became good friends but communicated through writing on paper... She taught me some basic words (most important 'bathroom')... And that is how we communicated with each other for about a year in a half.... She wouldn't read lips and I didn't want her to read mine... It made me and her feel uncomfortable...
One day I went to my first death social with her and I felt so out of place in the deaf community... So many people signing going on and on about how life is... I told my friend that I was going to join a sign language class at the local community college... Where I am in now my 4th year... I was able to skip 2 years because of the intense tutoring my friend gave me... But it wasn't only about learning ASL but it was also about learning about the deaf community and realizing that they are a community... I've also learned a little bit more about prejudice in the deaf community but that is another story...
I love now being able to sign along with my friend... Of course there are still times where I don't understand what she is saying and she has to fingerspell, but hey that is how we learn..."
—DAENTITY
"I have always had an interest in Sign Language. When I was 12 I learned my alphabet. That's all I knew for the longest time. I never had met any deaf at that time. One day when I was 19 I met a deaf girl that became my friend from that day forward. And I wanted to be able to talk to her. I bought a book and taught myself some. As we hung out together she would teach me more signs. Then I signed up for a Sign Language class at a deaf school. I took classes for about 2 years. I really had fun with it. Then I got married and my deaf friend got married and moved away. I now have 3 kids of my own and are teaching them as well. It has been a wonderful part of my life and I love to sign."
—PG
