Originally Posted by PuyoPiyo

Aww, Manny... Your not only one ya know, I do experience

Anyway, here's mine.

When I was little, I was used to thought there is no hearies that would actually discriminate against the deafies, and I went to the deaf school happily, but till someday my parents decide to move me away from the deaf school to the public school after I done with 3rd grade to keep me going on 4th grade instead of taking the 3rd grade another year.

Moving to the public school is a big difference for me at first time, and there was so few deafies at the public school where I went, almost all of them knew how to speak and wearing the hearing aids, they act so differently than the deafies at the deaf school, they seems often find me annoying because I don't really understand the hearie's culture, they even made fun of me, including the hearies made fun of me, I was not really happy with the public school and I have been begging my parents to send me back to the deaf school, but my parents kept refuse allow me to go back.

I decide to be patient with the public school, being patient with the special education for the deafies, having the interpreter helping with my works, etc.. But till I went to the middle school, I finally fed up with the special education, being lower educated compare to the hearies, being laughed at, so I decide to fight for my education and to prove the hearies that deafies are not dumb! So I made the special education teacher to accept me going to the classes exactly level as hearies, and not allow the interpreter assisting me with my works all the times.

Since I did those stuff, I continue fighting and the more I fought the more hearies look up to the deafies and want to learn the sign language, and more deafies joining to the public schools, and I just kept fighting till high school, ALMOST nobody made fun of me, but some of staffs had tried to put me in the special education due to my deafness, but I kept rebel, and failed once. When I had to go to the special education, I got the A all the times, and the teacher decide to send me to the library to make it as "study hall" instead of special education. Next year which was my last year of high school, I don't go to the special education at all.

I graduated proudly as deaf equally with hearies, with the last project, "Discrimination and Rights of the Deafness", also got a Senior Award as best photography student.

So OF COURSE!!! I am IN!

Originally Posted by Phillips

Wow... you re not alone.. i was in too ~ In early teenage!... Now I am happy as same you now!!

Originally Posted by AquaBlue

I guess I shouldn't be in here being a hearie and all.

Originally Posted by laughing-Carrot

Sorry, as much as I try to see the benefits of deafness... I have to be honest with myself and say no to this one.

Why? Put simply- if you had to choose between deafness and normal hearing, I think its fairly obvious people would go for the latter. Do not get me wrong though, I am proud of who I am, and I tend to think having and overcoming the experience of being profoundly deaf has made me a stronger person. It certainly has given me insights into the world that other normal people may never gain...

Hence, I think being deaf is a completely different concept to the experiences arising from being deaf. Its like asking quadriplegic people if they are proud of being such. I think many people would argue that Christopher Reeve inspired us all with his tenacity, courage and strength after being wheelchair bound, and those dreadful experiences made him into the person we all admired. However, it is foolish to assume that he was proud of being in a wheelchair, rather he would have being proud of who he became as a result.

Rather the issue here is- are people actually proud of being disabled (that being deafness here, obviously), OR are they proud of the experiences and insights they have gained from being deaf? On the other hand, its definitely possible to be proud of both....
But if given the chance, I would love to hear normally. I am not proud of the stress and burden I have placed on my family for the past 20 years (god knows what money and resources they have wasted on me). Then again, being deaf has given me unique insights into life that others may never understand...

Therein lies the paradox. Strong-willed people, or people with good experiences, for the most part, are probably proud. But in relation to people who have had a bad experience, or a bad upbringing, or lack of access to deaf specialists- its something they definitely could do without....