TJSieling
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2016
- Messages
- 18
- Reaction score
- 8
Hello everyone! My name is Taylor, I'm a 24 year old living in a smaller town in Minnesota. My interest in the Deaf community started completely by accident.
One saturday a few years ago, I was in the front office of my place of work by myself, and someone walked in looking for a car part (I work in auto salvage). I called over to him and turned back around to finish what I was typing at the time and then walked over to him, asking him what I could help him with. He pointed to his ear and shook his head, and I felt a feeling of guilt. Now, I know I wasn't at fault for anything, but I still felt bad. Of course, I do not know sign language, and I quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and I heard him sigh as he started writing what he wanted. That feeling of guilt grew as I thought about how many times this guy would have to do this in a day.
After a good 10 minutes (and a couple hand cramps on both sides), he actually had the part he was looking for. I handed him a piece of paper apologizing for not being able to help him in a timely manner. He signed a thanks with a smile and walked out the door. It got me thinking about what all changes in attitude, mood, gestures there were between the Deaf and hearing.
Fast forward a year, and I had mentioned this to my little sister (12 at the time). She was instantly interested and started on her way. She started with songs, simply learning to sign lyrics of her favorite songs, and now has a friend who is deaf and is able to talk to her pretty fluently.
I had another instance recently. I went with my aunt to a WIC appointment and was sitting in the waiting room with another person while she was doing whatever it is that you do at a WIC appointment. I heard a noise and looked up and this guy was staring at me and making some kind of motion with his hand. I had been watching my sister and her friend over the last couple years (my sister is really good at the talking out loud and signing at the same time) and I had learned a few signs from her. I recognized the signs and knew that he was asking what time it was. Unfortunately, I didn't trust myself to sign correctly, so again, I simply reached into my pocket, opened my phone and showed it to him. But the difference here was I didn't say anything, I simply smiled and showed him a clock. He seemed delighted and started signing to me, and that feeling of guilt from a few years before came back. I typed out a quick message on my phone telling him that I did NOT know sign language. He took my phone and typed a message back telling me that it was ok, it wasn't something that a lot of people think about, but that he was really happy that I understood him. It was after that that I decided that I wanted to start learning sign language.
So, here I am, looking to learn about sign language and the Deaf community. I really hope that anything I did dealing with those two didn't offend, I've been thinking about that since I've been typing this! I can't wait to learn more!
One saturday a few years ago, I was in the front office of my place of work by myself, and someone walked in looking for a car part (I work in auto salvage). I called over to him and turned back around to finish what I was typing at the time and then walked over to him, asking him what I could help him with. He pointed to his ear and shook his head, and I felt a feeling of guilt. Now, I know I wasn't at fault for anything, but I still felt bad. Of course, I do not know sign language, and I quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and I heard him sigh as he started writing what he wanted. That feeling of guilt grew as I thought about how many times this guy would have to do this in a day.
After a good 10 minutes (and a couple hand cramps on both sides), he actually had the part he was looking for. I handed him a piece of paper apologizing for not being able to help him in a timely manner. He signed a thanks with a smile and walked out the door. It got me thinking about what all changes in attitude, mood, gestures there were between the Deaf and hearing.
Fast forward a year, and I had mentioned this to my little sister (12 at the time). She was instantly interested and started on her way. She started with songs, simply learning to sign lyrics of her favorite songs, and now has a friend who is deaf and is able to talk to her pretty fluently.
I had another instance recently. I went with my aunt to a WIC appointment and was sitting in the waiting room with another person while she was doing whatever it is that you do at a WIC appointment. I heard a noise and looked up and this guy was staring at me and making some kind of motion with his hand. I had been watching my sister and her friend over the last couple years (my sister is really good at the talking out loud and signing at the same time) and I had learned a few signs from her. I recognized the signs and knew that he was asking what time it was. Unfortunately, I didn't trust myself to sign correctly, so again, I simply reached into my pocket, opened my phone and showed it to him. But the difference here was I didn't say anything, I simply smiled and showed him a clock. He seemed delighted and started signing to me, and that feeling of guilt from a few years before came back. I typed out a quick message on my phone telling him that I did NOT know sign language. He took my phone and typed a message back telling me that it was ok, it wasn't something that a lot of people think about, but that he was really happy that I understood him. It was after that that I decided that I wanted to start learning sign language.
So, here I am, looking to learn about sign language and the Deaf community. I really hope that anything I did dealing with those two didn't offend, I've been thinking about that since I've been typing this! I can't wait to learn more!
