-
A Day in the Life…Educational Sign Language Interpreter
“Are you pregnant?” There was a brief moment of silence before the music teacher slowly turned to face me. I could see the familiar look in her eyes reflecting several layers of shock. She was new at the school and did not even know me. Flash cards of adjectives she thought about me at that moment shuffled through my mind. Grinning, I casually lifted my hand to point at the Deaf student standing in line. It wasn’t registering. I leaned in to whisper, “This student was asking the question, not me.” It took another second before her eyes left mine and gazed over to where I pointed. I could see…
-
You Want to be a Writer? (Can You Take the Heat?)
I received my first rejection letter as a writer when I was ten years old. My mother–my biggest fan–had submitted a poem I had written to a publishing company. They responded with the obligatory “no thanks” message on their company letterhead (I still have that letter). Undeterred, I continued to fill journals with my poems, quirky fiction stories, and diary entries about all my current crushes. In high school, I wrote articles for our newspaper, Tiger Rag, and was on the yearbook staff. To me, it was the equivalent of attaining the status of a world-renowned journalist. (Dream big, my friend, dream big…) The paper has yellowed with age but…
-
“Are You Even Listening?” (Being Present vs. Being Distracted)
I stared straight into my husband’s eyes while he shared about his frustrating work day. I nodded and I’m pretty sure my expression was properly fixed in “sympathy mode”. But, I wasn’t hearing a word he was saying – I wasn’t present at that moment. Predictably…he noticed. Sighing, he asked, “You don’t really care about this, do you?” I was stricken (and feeling incredibly guilty). My mind had been somewhere else – exploring mental galaxies outside of the one that I should have been sharing with my husband. This happens often, unfortunately. I know I’m not alone in this. In the chaotic, fast-paced life we lead, we are constantly in a…
-
The Invincibility of Our Youth
I’m an adviser for our middle school yearbook this year. Naturally, I dragged out my old (I’m talking 1987 – old!) high school yearbook for ideas. You know how you were supposed to be in bed an hour ago and convince yourself that you just want to check your Instagram feed real quick before turning the lights out? Somehow, you end up doing a Google search on conspiracy theories and browsing Pinterest for potluck recipes? Two hours later… That was me with my yearbook propped on my lap that night before bed. I reminisced over old homecoming rally photos and cringed at all the ‘80s hairstyles. I was curious about…
-
The Significance of Scars
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” (Kahlil Gibran) The speaker told the story of a mother that held her young daughter in her arms as they talked. The mother’s face was horribly scarred from burns she had suffered in a house fire several years ago. The little girl hesitantly reached up to touch her mother’s face and spoke sadly, “Mommy, the kids at school make fun of you behind my back. I hear them whisper that you look like a monster. I am embarrassed when you come to my school. Why don’t you look like other mommies?” The story went…