Imagine seeing people talking, moving their mouths and not hearing anything. Welcome to the world of deafness. The journey of being a deaf person can be difficult, but these challenges can be overcome with perseverance. Today I'm going to share with you the story of my journey with deafness and seeing if I am my disability. It is an experience that has shaped my life through body, mind and spiritual matter. First, when I was a baby, my mother noticed that I didn't answer when she called me. Every time mom took me to the doctor, the doctor said everything was fine. Once the doctor hit me on the back of the head to test my hearing. I turned to the doctor and the doctor said to mom, “See, he can hear.” » When I was 18 months old, mom asked the doctor, “Shouldn't he talk now?” The doctor said, “The boys are slow. My son never spoke until he was 2 1/2 years old, then he just started speaking in sentences. But mom didn't give up. She took me to an audiologist to have my hearing tested. The audiologist diagnosed me with deafness. This is where I truly was my own body, being deaf without a cochlear implant. My parents showed they loved and cared for me by not giving up when they thought something was wrong. It's quite ironic because I was my own body and my parents wanted to change it for the good. This means they want to give me a cochlear implant so I can hear. Then, when I was three, I had surgery to get a cochlear implant at the University of Minnesota. A cochlear implant is a small device that bypasses damaged parts of the ear and directly stimulates the hearing nerve. The signals generated by the implant are sent through the auditory nerve to the brain, which recognizes middle of paper......finger required. I was excited, but very nervous. Northern Voices only had about 5 students in each class and Rice Lake had about 27. It was so loud! I saw children chatting, but I was so shy to meet them. The children were welcoming and I quickly made friends while chatting. At that moment, I felt that speaking had become a part of me because it was ingrained in my soul. The signature has left my soul. Having grown up with hearing students over the past 12 years, I no longer feel part of the deaf community, but part of the hearing community. My true self blossomed. The difference between the body and yourself Today I shared with you my journey through deafness. Being deaf can be difficult, but it's not the end of the world. I can do what anyone else can do, like talk, play sports, and hang out with friends. Every person’s journey is different. For me the key to success is perseverance.