Like anything in life, you learn to take the bad with the good. I'm fine with my deafness and I do enjoy the quiet that comes with it. I don't enjoy the disconnect with the hearing people around me. It seems easier now that it used to be. Perhaps because I had some hearing in the past and that just made me more aware of what I am missing. Today, I can enjoy a silent lunch with other hearing folks chatting around me. There are times when I would like to be more engaged with my coworker, but over all I like who I am and what I am. Being deaf is as much a way of life as it is a lifestyle.