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Personal narratives essays
Personal narratives essays
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I am blind. But I was not always blind. I once experienced the majesty of a sunrise in late August and the awe of the deep blue sea as the sun glistens from it. Now I have only my memories to comfort me. So they sent me here, a field trip, a good experience they say, to help me cope. They sent me to a deaf school for the day, unknowing of how awkward it is for me. They gave me a buddy, but for what? We can?t communicate through speech or sign language. ? You?ll figure it out,? they say. So now I sit here, alone and desolate in darkness, hoping for the occasional memory to write upon the blank screen of my vision and bring life to this seemingly dead place.
And so I sit. The chair is hard and cold as stone, like a cement chair in a jail cell. It is firm, but not strong, it squeaks and wobbles around like a fish out of water. I reach down to make sure all four legs are there. Yes, there?s four, four cold smooth spears symbolizing my demise. Spears ready to leap forward and devour me if I make the slightest wrong or sudden move. I stretch out my arms, trying to find my surroundings. To the left, nothing but air. To the right, another spear, but not like the others this spears lies on its side like the rails in my bathroom. My hand follows the cold rod. It hits something leaving a sting and cracking my thumb as it crushes against my hand. This must be the desk. I glide my hand along the smooth surface felling all the little bumps of eraser left behind. I feel along the sides and touch the rigid edges where pens have been dug in deep like sharp wounds giving the desk a unique personality. As my fingertips reach the center, I realize just how close the desk is, only about five inches away from my rapidly beatin...
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... down the hall and I encounter a revelation of thought. We are going outside. I run faster now and burst through the front doors into the great heaven. I can smell fresh cut grass on the horizon and the soft warm rays of the sun finally beam down on my face. I breath the fresh cool air and listen. My bird has come back again and sings over the crackling flames and sirens of the trucks. It sings because it is free, it sings a victory praise for me because now I am free. I sit down on the wet grass and what I understand to be my buddy takes my hand. On my hand she spells out two letters. Two letters that say everything. She spells out ?O? ?K? and I cry because I know that no matter what happens or how much I have to suffer, in the end it?s okay because I am alive and I am free. So I am still blind, but now I am blind and loving it!
As a hearing person in a hearing environment I do not come across a lot of deaf people. I have only encountered three deaf people and in the three situations it was hard for me understanding them. Now I am taking an ASL class and it has been one of the best choices I have made in my educational path. The event I was able to go was the Deaf Pizza Night at Shakey's in Garden Grove. It was on July 16 from 6pm-8pm. There were only 5 deaf people in the event and a lot of ASL students. One of the 5 deaf persons in the Deaf Event was Rennie. He was kind to tell the others that not a lot of deaf people went to the event because the venue was too small. Instead they met at Starbucks located at the Outlets of Orange. Rennie was the only one who was approaching the students the other 4
move the red sweater to the corner of my desk with my ruler. I move my pencil and
In this article, “The Deaf Body in Public Space,” Rachel Kolb explains how interacting with people who do not understand sign language could be difficult. With her hearing disability she struggled to communicate with her peers. Kolb further explains the different situations she has encountered with people and comments that are made with first intercommunications. Going further she also mentions how she struggles with two languages and two modes of communication.
The book, ‘Alone in the Mainstream,’ is a collection of interviews spliced together thematically with parallels to the author 's life. It covers everything from Teachers, good and bad, to friends, bullies, classes and all other parts of growing up. The common theme gluing them all together is not solitude as the book states, but difference felt by the interviewee or the author. Several of the sections, namely the ones about great teachers and great friends, show that deaf people are not alone, but that their experience is vastly different.
During my childhood I was diagnosed as having poor eyesight and was prescribed glasses to assist with my vision correction. I realize how blessed I am to have had that as an option. I was always in awe of the environment and creatures who inhabited the various areas of nature. The sense of vision is very important and without the ability to see an individual would be missing out on many colorful life experiences. Blindness, which is the lack of the ability to see is a very dark and challenging disability. Without one’s eyes, everyday activities such a walking, reading, eating and identifying people can be a struggle. It has been proven that the brain will adapt to the loss by giving itself a makeover. If one sense is lost,
In literature, blindness serves a general significant meaning of the absence of knowledge and insight. In life, physical blindness usually represents an inability or handicap, and those people afflicted with it are pitied. The act of being blind can set limitations on the human mind, thus causing their perception of reality to dramatically change in ways that can cause fear, personal insecurities, and eternal isolation. However, “Cathedral” utilizes blindness as an opportunity to expand outside those limits and exceed boundaries that can produce a compelling, internal change within an individual’s life. Those who have the ability of sight are able to examine and interpret their surroundings differently than those who are physically unable to see. Carver suggests an idea that sight and blindness offer two different perceptions of reality that can challenge and ultimately teach an individual to appreciate the powerful significance of truly seeing without seeing. Therefore, Raymond Carver passionately emphasizes a message that introduces blindness as not a setback, but a valuable gift that can offer a lesson of appreciation and acceptance toward viewing the world in a more open-minded perspective.
Based on the reactions of the interview, I decided to conduct an experiment for a couple of hours with my friend to be deaf. We went to a nearby bakery to buy vanilla cake. Like the usual, once we opened the doors of the bakery we were greeted by the employees. They asked us what we would like to order, so I smiled, and gestured by pointing to my ear that I cannot hear them. They were confused a bit, looking at my friend to help them. To which my friend also pointed to her ear, to tell them she was deaf too. Once I gained their attention, I used American sign language to sign the word write. By that, they quickly understood that I wanted a sheet of paper and
Unfamiliarity, in the broadest sense, can evoke a feeling of fear or anxiety. However, my unique cultural upbringing has made me comfortable with unfamiliarity, and eager to embrace differences among people with compassion and tolerance. I am the product of a cultural infusion—I was born in the United Kingdom to an English father, but was influenced by the Turkish customs of my mother. While living in England, I grew up eating dinner on the floor, listening to Turkish music on the radio, and waking up to a poster of Kemal Ataturk. I spent every summer living in Turkey where I learned the language, saw the way different people lived, and became familiar with the practices of Islam. At 14 years old I was immersed in yet another culture when I
Failure isn’t always something you have control of or have the ability to predict. Failure seems to happen at the worst of times; however we need to accept it, because you cannot always win. My greatest failure would be tearing my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), my junior year in a lacrosse game, through no fault of my own in which my body physically failed me, but it truly changed my aspect of life in multiple ways.
Being confronted to the unknown can be challenging and unpleasant. In his short story entitled “Cathedral” Raymond Carver portrays the journey of a man’s personal thought and understanding about life. Blindness is unfamiliar for the narrator, but when his wife decides to invite the blind man she has been corresponding with for several years to their house, he has no choice but being confronted with it. The journey of the main character in this short story reveals the difference between seeing and understanding.
While trying to think about a time being distracted has affected me, I realized that while writing this essay my phone was constantly catching my attention. I purposely isolated myself in my basement apartment away from sister and her kids to have complete focus on the task at hand. I really want to deliver a well thought out essay, but my phone keeps ringing and I become more distracted.
In middle school I was diagnosed with a disability with the way I expressed myself through writing. Ever since, I have gained multiple values and learned several lessons about self confidence. I was taught to push past my limits, in order to be successful in reaching my goals along with my dreams. Today I am a senior in high school who was once thought to struggle, but was able to succeed beyond expectations. To some, a disability may seem like a setback from achieving goals, but to me I used it as a challenge for myself. I accepted myself for who I was and looked at my disability as a unique trait of mine. I was able to provide a message to others that anything you set your mind to is possible with dedication and hard work. It might take
As I depart from the kitchen, I walk into the living room. There is a terrifying ugly brown couch with a crocheted throw draped over it. Two more Lazy-Boy chairs sit by it. On the opposite side of the room from me is a stone fireplace with shelves built on either side of it. These shelves are filled with books on every topic one can think of. Subjects range from the Civil War to cooking and mechanics. Above the fireplace rests an old, dependable clock. As it strikes the hour with its dings and dongs, I know I am where I belong. I am home.
It was a dreadful afternoon, big droplets of rain fell directly on my face and clothes. I tasted the droplets that mixed with my tears, the tears I cried after the incident. The pain in my foot was excruciating. It caused me to make a big decision of whether I should visit you or not. I decided I would. I limped towards my bright, blue car where my bony, body collapsed onto the seat. I started the engine up but at the same time being cautious of my bleeding foot. I then drove to the destination where I was bound to meet you. I was bound to meet you after three years of counselling from my last appearance with you. I guess all I can remember is the scarring....
The first feeling was when my eyes were closed was that how can i do everyday life activity but after an hour I was comfortable being blind. This made me think that if I was really blind and how could makes my life goes on easily by not worrying that I am not going to bump into obstacles. My first accomplishment was I successfully walk from Ms.Kate class to the toilet by not using my helper and able to use the toilet fluently. I was confident that be able to walk fluently. This made know the feeling of the person who is blind and if a see a blind person I will be happy to know that they can live their life by not have their eye but it able them to be a good listener to us. People that don’t really know how the feeling of being blind is but if you try like what I do. They think being blind is easy for blind people but it is hard for them at first that they know that they are blind. It is difficult for them to adapt from having eyes to not having eyes. They needs time to be comfortable without having their and some people treat them badly. After all, being blind for them is harder then when you have an eyes. Being blind for a day made me understand how hard to be blind to inspire me that to take cares of your eye and use my eye wisely.