Twylight's Response to Question #2.

"Write short paragraphs describing times in the recent past when you've used language to inform, to convince, to explore, to make decisions, and to meditiate or pray. Be sure to write at least one paragraph for each of these purposes. Then decide whether each paragraph describes an act of arguement, persuasion, or both, and offer some reasons in defense of your decisions."

Last September, I was asked to address a speech to Ottawa-Carleton District School Board in Canada. In that speech, I had to educate teachers for a change. I shared my story as "the deaf student" who enrolled in the mainstream. I informed them about who I am, the hardships I faced throughout my life in the hearing culture, reasons on why I became deaf. The type of support I receive at school. Some tips on how to make a deaf student feel like they belong in a classroom, the importance of using American Sign Language. I stood on the podium and told everyone about my life as a deaf woman. I explained to them that I was planning on moving to post-secondary school in Washington, DC. I explained to the teachers how important it is to have faith in their students, and to never give up. I also explained that if it wasn't for the support I received from my family, my friends and my peer system, I would never have made it through high school. I opened a lot of eyes that day, a large crowd of people were convinced that "deaf doesn't mean dumb." In result of that, a lot of teachers who were touched by my story will treat every deaf student they have with the same amount of respect they give their students. Knowing that they will receive that respect as well. A strong bond between a teacher and a student can open windows of opportunities from both of them because they can learn together, and work together to discover just exactly how much they are able to do.

In my senior year at SIr Robert Borden High School, I was struggling in a long-term relationship with my boyfriend of two years. One day, he just felt that the relationship between us was too "difficult" because we lived in seperate worlds. He felt like he just couldn't escape the fact that I come from five generations of a deaf family and he came from a hearing family. He felt that everyone who knew us labelled us as something "different." Although I didn't see the difference between us at all, I was in love. I tried to explain to him that it doesn't matter what other people think, there will always be people out there who think that we are different or that we both deserve better but at the end of the day, it was important that we had each other because we experience something that others don't- compatibality, acceptance of who one is. We discussed it and managed to work things out. I told him that if he ever had any doubts, to come and talk to me and together, we would get through it. I had to convince him that it doesn't matter the type of world we lived in, it only mattered that we were open to each other's world and were accepting of each other. Although we both had entirely different views on each other's worlds, our situation was an effort to convince and to capitvate the true meaning of our relationship because of how we both opened our thoughts to other people's views on our relationship.

In March of 2009, I went away on a trip to Cabarete, Dominican Republic for a week with a couple of my girlfriends. During my stay there, I was able to explore and see the difference in their lifestyle as opposed to the one I live in back in Canada. First of all, we spoke different languages. We all come from different backgrounds. American Sign Language (ASL) isn't used in the Dominican often as it is being used in Canada. So to teach them about the "deaf" culture, and learn about theirs as well. It was a rich learning experience and in return, we learned something very valuable. In result of that, my girlfriends and I came back from our trip open-minded about other cultures, willingly wanting to explore more cultures and learning new languages. Because of that eye-opening trip, my friends and I are going to travel around Europe in the Summer of 2010 to experience new cultures.

I grew up surrounded by hearing people, since I was in the mainstream for twelve years. I felt like I lost my identity as a deaf person. I no longer excelled in American Sign Language(ASL) and it worried me. I began researching on Gallaudet University because I heard from other people that it was a wonderful school to enroll in. My cousin, a previous Gallaudet Student said that it changed her life for the better, that it made her realize where she belonged in this world. After hearing her talk about her experience at Gallaudet University, I realized how badly I wanted to get into this school. I wanted to see the change in myself. So I took the Stanford Achievement Test (SATS) and waited four weeks to hear back from Gallaudet University. Once I found out that I was accepted, I was thrilled! I knew that soon enough, I would find the missing piece of my puzzle that i've been longing to find- my identity. I want to learn more about my deaf culture and experience it firsthand. I know that once I got accepted into Gallaudet University and entered the deaf world, I would no longer have to worry about the communication barriers. I would be able to speak freely and understand others, also have others understand me as well. I was destined to be here, because this is my world. This is my world now. I have no regrets about leaving the hearing world behind, because I will always carry the skill of communicating verbally. I experienced it for almost eighteen years, now it's time for me to break out and spread my wings into the unknown.

Often, I get myself in a difficult situation and I often seek an escape. I found my escape in mediation through writing. As i'm writing poetry, i'm in my own little world and I can't be disturbed. It's a form of mediation for me. Even though at times, it is only temporary. I do feel better once i'm done. My feelings of uncertainty, anger, shame are put into writing and soon enough they dissapear onto the page.