Third (Fourth) blog

Hello everyone. If you are new to this blog, welcome. My name is Julia and I want to talk about how people will sometimes treat me differently because I am deaf and have cerebral palsy. 

For example, when I was two or three years old, my teacher tried to have me sit in a special chair that was made of wood. It was a different chair from what my peers used. I wanted to use the same chair as my friends, so I refused to sit in that special chair. At the end of the day, my teacher talked with my mom about what happened and that’s when my mom knew that I didn’t like when people treated me different.  Sometimes, I need special things and sometimes I don’t.  It depends on the situation for me.

Another example occurred when I moved to Texas from Maryland.  I was in 7th grade and it was a complete change for me.  I was in a different environment and with people had different experiences from me.  When I talked with people, I could see in people’s faces that they didn’t want to talk with me or that they were bored with our conversation. It was hard for some people to understand my signing because of my cerebral palsy and others, who were hearing, had a hard time understanding my speech because I am deaf.  When I tried to communicate, some people would pretend to understand when they really didn’t.  They would lie to me and pretend that they were my friend but then talk about me behind my back.  I could tell by seeing how they treated their other friends compared to how they treated me.  Also, they would be interested in doing fun things with their friends but wouldn’t invite me.  I am fine with that because it is their choice to do that.

I can’t do anything about what other people do and say but I can control what I do and how I feel.  I choose to be positive and do things like smile at someone, do things to cheer someone up, or do something good for people. In the Bible, it says that we should treat people how we want to be treated.  My advice is to treat people nice so that others do the same for you.   Also, everyone has something that they struggle with.  You just happen to see my struggles because of my disability.  I am still human.  You can smile at me or wave and that will make my day bright.

Second (Third) blog (part two)

(the pictures by the author)

Hello everyone. I want to talk about some of the differences between my deaf schools in Maryland and Texas and my university in Virginia. The difference between my schools and university are communication, classroom instruction, and two different laws for students with disabilities. I have great feelings and my confidence about things in both schools.

My deaf schools and my university have different ways of communicating, providing accommodations, and classroom instruction. There are two different laws covering people with special needs at my Deaf schools and my university. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) cover K-12 schools including my Deaf schools. The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) for employments, universities, including my university. The two different laws can be confusing to me because the laws have different accommodations, but I am so blessed to have wonderful laws to help me to be successful with education and jobs.

The cool thing about going to a Deaf school is everyone speaks the same language. Hearing people and Deaf people both know American Sign Language (ASL) in my schools and other Deaf schools. I had some Deaf teachers and some hearing teachers. My Deaf schools try to teach kids like me things based on visual and some things based on the sounds. The only difference was that some of my friends stayed in a dorm during the week and went home to see their families on weekends while I went home to see my family every day.

During my high school years, when I participated in some activities, like cheerleading, robotics, plays, and leadership retreat, sometimes I would stay in the dorm because we had very busy days and late activities or practices and it was easier than going home. I can’t compare my school to other schools that my friends went to because I only went to Deaf schools when I was growing up. I learned about the same subjects, but I also learned about deaf history and deaf culture in addition to the normal subjects like English, math, science, and social studies or history.

(the picture by the author)

 I am so proud to be Deaf and my deaf schools helped me to grow my Deaf identify. When I learned about Deaf history, I fell in love with Deaf history and I am so happy that I able to have amazing Deaf role models like Marlee Martin, Nyle Dimarco, Claudia Gordon, Haben Girma, CJ Jones, etc. I feel confidence about my knowable in my subjects and my education when I was in Deaf schools. Lot people ask me if I miss being at a Deaf school. I say that sometimes, I do. Of course, I miss my friends, but the biggest thing that I miss is communications access to everything at school. When there were the events at school, everyone was signing. If it was open to everyone including hearing people, there were interpreters. It was very inclusive.

 I am happy being at Hampton University. Even though I am only Deaf person here, I have learned so much, not just in class but in life lessons like how to fight for myself to get accommodations. My university teach kids and me things based on the sounds more than vision. When I am in my university, I am learning about hearing culture and black culture more. Now that I am at Hampton University, I am so proud to be a black woman and my school helped me to grow my black identify more. When I am learning about black history, I fall in love with black history and I am so happy that I able to have very amazing black role models like Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Ruby Bridges, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, etc. I feel confident about my writing and my education when I am at my university. I feel more confident about my writing even writing is tough for me because my first language is American Sign Language (ASL). My second language is English. It is ironic because English is my favorite subject since my freshman in high school even though I still struggle with writing.  I am still learning about writing and different things about hearing culture but I love my Home by the Sea.

---

Second (Third) blog (part one)

(the pictures by the author)

Hello everyone. I want to talk about the similarities between my deaf schools in Maryland and Texas and my university in Virginia. The similarities between my schools and university are getting a good education, having a social life, residential, and participating in different organizations/clubs that involve the community and students. I experienced the great feelings and gained confidence in myself in these schools.

My deaf schools and my university have some similarities in education and social life. My Deaf schools in Maryland and Texas and my hearing university are a good education for me. My first deaf school in Maryland was Kendall Demonstration Elementary School. I was there in preschool to almost half of the second grade. I learned about reading and math and about the deaf history and deaf culture. My second deaf school was Maryland school for the Deaf. I was there in almost half of the second grade to sixth grade. I learned more about reading, math and started learning about science, and social science, I also learned about the history of America. My third deaf school was Texas school for the Deaf. I was there from the seventh grade to my senior year of high school. I learned more about english, math, science, and history. I learned a lot about Science and Technology and Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) when I was in Texas School for the Deaf. The one of top deaf school in the country is the Texas School for the Deaf.

(the picture by the author)

I am now, a freshman at Hampton University. It is a very good historically black college and university (HBCU). I am learning more things like English, math, history, and different things to help prepare me for the future and my university life. I am learning more about black history, black culture, HBCU history, and the HBCU experience than when I was growing up. My deaf schools and my hearing university have a great social life for students and me. The social life in my schools have wonderful dance parties, different social events, and I can go out with my friends to the restaurants and go to places off campus. I was able to make new friends and meet new people from different states where I was in my three deaf schools. I am also able to make new friends and meet new people from different states and countries.

My deaf schools and my university have amazing different organizations/clubs to be involved in. When I was in Texas School for the Deaf, I was involved with the two organizations and two or three clubs. The two organizations are Black Deaf Student Union and Junior National Association of the Deaf. The two clubs are Tech Girls and Performing Arts. There was also one club that was also a class and that was Robotics. At Hampton University, I am not involved with any organizations and clubs yet, but my university have a lot good organizations and clubs. My deaf schools are different from public schools because my deaf schools are residential schools and kids who are in other cities that far away stay in dorms and go home on weekends. My deaf schools are the same as my university because they have dorms and they are residential schools. 

---

My Second "First" Blog

Hello everyone. I am back. I want to introduce myself again because I haven’t posted anything about my journey since 2015. My name is Julia. I am Deaf and have Cerebral Palsy.  When my mom got pregnant, she found out that she was carrying triplets.  I was born premature and had to spend three months in the hospital before I could go home. Unfortunately, my older brother and sister did not survive; therefore, I am a surviving triplet. Before I left the hospital, my parents found out that I was deaf because I failed my newborn hearing test. They also found out that I had Cerebral Palsy as a result of being born premature.  I had a rough start in life.  My doctors told my parents that I would never be able to speak/sign or to walk. I proved my doctors wrong and have been proving people wrong ever since.  

I am the only deaf person in my family. I use American Sign Language for communication.  I can speak and read lips, but it is not as effective for me because I can miss words in conversation. I am lucky because my parents and grandparents learned sign language when I was about 3 years old so that they could communicate with me.   I do have two Cochlear Implants that help me to hear some sounds and to recognize when people are speaking to me; however, I sometimes get busy with college life that I forget to use them (plus sometimes it can be very loud and distracting during the day).   My parents and younger siblings speak and sign to communicate with me.

My parents taught me not to use my challenges as an excuse not to succeed.  I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Unfortunately, my hometown didn’t have a lot of experience with kids like me (deaf with an additional disability) so we moved to get access to things that I needed.  We moved to St. Louis, Missouri, Bowie, Maryland (I attended 2 different schools there), Austin, Texas, and now Hampton Roads, Virginia for me to get the education that I needed.  Last year, I graduated with honors from the Texas School for the Deaf and now I am a first year college student at Hampton University. I am so proud to say that I am first totally Deaf student at my university.

People are always surprised with what I am able to accomplish.  Growing up, I experienced bullying and discrimination from first grade or second grade through high school because of my unique challenges. I also experienced racism from eighth grade through my senior year of high school.  Some people didn’t think that I belonged in a “normal” school environment.  Others thought that I shouldn’t be a cheerleader or be in the school play.  They don’t think that I should be in a University.  I accomplished all of this because a found my own way to accomplish what I wanted.  I am really enjoying the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) experience; however, I would be lying if I said it was easy.  As the first Deaf student, there are a lot of things that my university has to get used to (like providing interpreters for all of my activities on campus).  Still, it is the best decision that I make to attend my university.

 I want to share my experiences with others who have similar challenges as me or know people who do.  I will be honest about the good and the bad and hopefully, you, the reader, can learn something from my journey.  Buckle up because it will be a bumpy ride.  Thank you for your time to read this blog.  Please subscribe so that you can be the first to know when I post something new.  Have a great day and see you soon.

My First Blog

Hi everyone

I want introduce myself to you.  My name is Julia K and I am in the 9th grade.  I am deaf and go to a school for the deaf.  I am the only deaf person in my family.  I also have cerebral palsy but I am still a sweet and funny, cool girl and who loves to talk.  My hobbies are technology, making videos and writing stories and reading lots of books.

It is true that I have cerebral palsy but I can do lots of things.  I am very smart and have have lots of ideas and dreams. I want be fashion designer and lawyer and author and maybe pastor. I like all kinds of people, both hearing and Deaf.  I believe in God and I am a Christian.  I want to use my blog to talk about things that happen in my life and things that are important to me - like how I don't like bullies.

Thank you for read this and I hope you enjoy your day!