Okay, my secret origin:
Born in August 18, 1978, I was born with an umbulical cord around my neck (whoops), and the doctor thought I was dead after he slapped on my butt 10 times without crying (I didn't feel anything, I swear). I then cried when he didn't slap my butt. Go figure.
So, was I hearing impaired then? Not sure. My mom figures that (and official documents also corroborate) it occurred when I was 5 years old. I was constantly getting sick, most likely from kindergarten or that I was placed in front of the friggin windy front door all the time daily during nap time in kindergarten. So I kept getting sick, and after a while, strong antibiotics the doctor prescribed destroyed my hearing nerves. But at least I wasn't sick.
A short while after that, a teacher noticed I cannot hear. 
Flash forward a few years, and I am in grammar school, how I got there was aggrvating, I was the first hearing-impaired student ever there, and the teachers and the principal were reluctant to accept me. They weren;t confident I can be educated well. In addition later on, I had this microphone/hearing aid combo which made it worse for the teachers, as they have to carry a mike all the time. My classmates didn;t help either, calling me "Dumbo" or "Mr. Spock". Now that I think about it...I haven't watched Dumbo at all. Anyway, I was different and felt different at an eraly age. This happened all the way until 8th grade. Always different, never really part of the school. I had maybe two friends there, and was always shy in oral presentations, which made it worse because I cannot hear questions kids were asking in the first place. Now that I thnk about it, it was hard to communicate to others, and words may hold different meanings for me back then (they would accidentally give me the wrong meaning to words). Heck, didn;t even leanr the word "fuck" or "shit' until 7th grade.
It wasnt until high school that I stood up for myself, insisted in being first in oral presentations, and FINALLY I got to love books, comics, etc. I felt more confident, and in college, whew! I made a gazilion friends and acquaintances, since I decided to open myself up to others.
It's still hard for me to hear though, and I often miscommunicte or seem socially awkward at times. Or just plain do things that are not understandable (but make perfect sense to me, because I heard it differently). For example, when my co-worker was talking about a project, I said "Bring your umbrella". LOL.
It's been a great life though, despite all the hardships, I had lots of support.
I knew who my true friends were and who were not.
Born in August 18, 1978, I was born with an umbulical cord around my neck (whoops), and the doctor thought I was dead after he slapped on my butt 10 times without crying (I didn't feel anything, I swear). I then cried when he didn't slap my butt. Go figure.
So, was I hearing impaired then? Not sure. My mom figures that (and official documents also corroborate) it occurred when I was 5 years old. I was constantly getting sick, most likely from kindergarten or that I was placed in front of the friggin windy front door all the time daily during nap time in kindergarten. So I kept getting sick, and after a while, strong antibiotics the doctor prescribed destroyed my hearing nerves. But at least I wasn't sick.
A short while after that, a teacher noticed I cannot hear.
Flash forward a few years, and I am in grammar school, how I got there was aggrvating, I was the first hearing-impaired student ever there, and the teachers and the principal were reluctant to accept me. They weren;t confident I can be educated well. In addition later on, I had this microphone/hearing aid combo which made it worse for the teachers, as they have to carry a mike all the time. My classmates didn;t help either, calling me "Dumbo" or "Mr. Spock". Now that I think about it...I haven't watched Dumbo at all. Anyway, I was different and felt different at an eraly age. This happened all the way until 8th grade. Always different, never really part of the school. I had maybe two friends there, and was always shy in oral presentations, which made it worse because I cannot hear questions kids were asking in the first place. Now that I thnk about it, it was hard to communicate to others, and words may hold different meanings for me back then (they would accidentally give me the wrong meaning to words). Heck, didn;t even leanr the word "fuck" or "shit' until 7th grade.
It wasnt until high school that I stood up for myself, insisted in being first in oral presentations, and FINALLY I got to love books, comics, etc. I felt more confident, and in college, whew! I made a gazilion friends and acquaintances, since I decided to open myself up to others.
It's still hard for me to hear though, and I often miscommunicte or seem socially awkward at times. Or just plain do things that are not understandable (but make perfect sense to me, because I heard it differently). For example, when my co-worker was talking about a project, I said "Bring your umbrella". LOL.
It's been a great life though, despite all the hardships, I had lots of support.
I knew who my true friends were and who were not. VIEW 8 of 8 COMMENTS
ironsurfer:
Sounds like you've adapted well over the years. Keep up the good attitude. Like everyone here has said, you should be proud if yourself.
tabi:
yeah! 24th ave and 29th st. bohemian hall and beer garden. a +