D.H. Lawrence on self-pity: "I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A bird will fall frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself."
I was different because I had a deaf sister, and I could "talk" with my hands. Most first-grade classmates wanted to learn it.
As an adult, I became deaf gradually, so it wasn't a shock -- and certainly not the end of the world. I learned some speech-reading naturally, so I was ready for formal schooling.
I'm discriminated against because I'm deaf, but it's just an annoyance, not the worst ignorance we encounter.
