College years

I arrived on campus several weeks before the semester began. I had to go through the New Signers Program, and then through New Student Orientation. Whoa. Talk about a culture shock. The first 3 weeks were heady, I'll tell you that. Wow, sign language, so beautiful! And so easy to understand! I fit in here! I finally fit in! This is ME! I was happy. But still scared. I was far away from home. I occasionally got homesick.

The semester began. I started interacting with more people, especially people who grew up DEAF, deaf, deaf of deaf parents, grew up in a deaf institute, exposed to sign language all their lives, etc. People would sign "hearing" on their forehead when they interacted with me. But wait, I'm trying to fit in! I'm one of you! What are you talking about? How dare you call me a name? I got kind of sad. So, I was kind of isolated during college, too. But I loved my roommates. They were all a wonderful bunch of people. We were all similar. No prejudices there! And I made sure to hang out with other people more like me. I knew better not to hang out with people who didn't want to be with me.

And I could finally understand what was going on in the classroom. I didn't have to worry about taking notes, or having a notetaker. I don't even know how to take notes to save my life!

I was amazed at the speed I learned a new language, American Sign Language. I became very fluent (I'll never be native, because I never grew up with it) in ASL, or perhaps more accurately, Pidgin Sign English (PSE)? So now I knew three languages, and a smattering of a foreign sign language.

I remember not knowing what I wanted to major in in my first 2 years at Gallaudet. I couldn't decide. Did I want to major in psychology? Did I want to major in this? In that? I finally decided on a major.

I had a spring internship in my senior year, and I didn't change my major, but I changed my career goals because of that internship.

I graduated from Gallaudet.

The Post-Graduate World (and the ADULT, big bad world) next!